The Prince, The Girl and The World
by Percy Son of Neptune
Summary: Sequel to The Princess and the Peasant. Percy left for Germany suddenly and Annabeth doesn't know why. But when she finds a letter in Percy's empty room addressed to her, will it bring answers or just more confusion? Two separate stories converge into one as the World Championships approach. The question is though, will Annabeth forgive Percy for what he did? Only time will tell.
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go! Another surprise! I was thinking today and since it is 12/12/12, I figured I would upload the first chapter of the sequel today. I mean, why not? A perfect chapter for a perfect day. This story starts right off of the ending of the previous one, if you didn't know. It starts at the morning after Percy left for Germany. Also, the Historical Disclaimer from TPATP is still in effect, just so you guys know.**

**We start in Annabeth's Point of View for this sequel. I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Here's Chapter One of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan, let's get that out there.**

* * *

Chapter One: Annabeth POV

I woke up early. Percy was leaving to go back to Wales in two days, so I had made it my goal to spend the next forty-eight hours with him. Especially since I didn't get to hang out with him the previous day. My dad had made me help with the travel plans for Ashton and Rayne's wedding, which was going to happen right before we left for the World Championships.

I quickly took a shower and threw on a simple dress. I practically ran to Percy's room, excited to see him.

I got to his door and knocked softly, not wanting to wake up anyone else in the hallway.

Percy didn't answer.

I tried knocking a little louder. Still no answer.

Even louder. Still nothing.

"Percy," I said quietly. "Percy, wake up. Open this door."

The door stayed shut. This went on for another minute or so, but still Percy didn't open the door. I figured he must just be tired from being out so late the last couple of nights.

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I took ahold of the door handle, expecting it to be locked. The jiggling of the handle would surely wake him.

Surprisingly though, the handle was unlocked. That raised my suspicion. Percy never left his door handle unlocked. Well, he did the one time I slept with him. The first time, but that's just because we were being careless. Percy isn't one to make the same mistake twice.

Hesitantly I opened the door, expecting something to jump at me. Nothing came. The door slowly creaked open. Surely Percy must be awake now.

I got the whole way through the door and stopped suddenly. The room was empty. Absolutely nothing was in the room.

I quickly made my way back into the hallway to make sure I had the right room. I did. I ran back inside. The bed looked like no one had slept there for at least two nights. I ran over to the closet. Nothing was hanging inside. I swear I thought Percy placed something in there. I ran into the bathroom. Nothing caught my eye right away. The hand towel was hung up, a full bar of soap was by the sink, the shampoo bottles were sitting as they should be in the shower and there was a dirty towel hung over the shower rod. Nothing out of the-

Wait. A dirty towel? I turned back. Sure enough, a dirty towel was hanging over the shower rod. I immediately grabbed the towel and pulled it up to my face. It smelled like Percy.

So that meant he _was _here. I ran back into the bedroom, still carrying the towel. I scanned around the room once more. Maybe he was playing a trick on me. I continued to scan over the room.

My confidence crumbled when I finally saw the letter. It was sitting on the writing desk in plain sight. The towel dropped out of my hand and fell to the floor at the center of the room. I made my way over to the writing desk slowly, my fear and worry escalating.

On the envelope was a single word written in Percy's handwriting: Annabeth. I could feel the tears starting to form on my face. I could tell where this was going.

I slowly opened the letter, dreading what was inside. A necklace fell out, but I ignored it. I retrieved the letter, slowly opening it to find what was written inside.

My final little bit of hope crumbled. The first two words sent me over the edge.

Percy's letter read,

_Annabeth,_

_ I'm sorry. I need to start with that. No one deserves this, but especially you. You're an amazing girl and I am glad to say that you're my girlfriend. From the first time I saw you in Wales I knew that you would be nothing short of amazing. From our first dance together at Rayne's party to walking with you around the grounds of London to kissing you goodnight last night, I would be lying if I said my life wasn't much short of perfect. If you don't get anything else from this letter, I want you to remember that._

_ I got a letter from my uncle last night. I'm sorry to say that he left me no choice. Leaving London as unexpected as I did was not planned. My biggest regret so far is that I was unable to say goodbye to the one girl that meant so much to me. I know it doesn't make up for it at all, but please take this necklace as a token of my regret. You deserve much more than a necklace, but I can't give you a kiss when we're in two different countries._

_ I hope your father understands. I know he doesn't approve of my decision, but these types of decisions must be made. If he needs an answer as to why I made my decision, tell him to talk with my mother. She has made decisions that haven't been approved of, but they still have been understood. I hope your father recognizes this and sees reason._

_ I apologize to Isabel in advance. She doesn't deserve what's about to happen because of my decisions._

_ Ashton and Rayne will probably get married before I see you again. If so, I apologize to them as well for missing their wedding. I guarantee that she'll look absolutely amazing._

_ As for Lord Ares and Lady Allyson, I hope they don't feel like they're losing a son. They were my second parents after all._

_ And finally Abby. My own sister. I couldn't even take the time to talk with my sister. If you still acknowledge me after this, I will be truly surprised. If you don't, I'll understand. Losing family is hard. But for Abby, tell her I'm truly sorry. She was, and still is, my best friend. Growing up with her made all the difference. She made me who I was. And then you came along._

_ I would say my life has been truly affected by five women over the course of my seventeen years of living. My mother, who made the one decision that changed my life forever. My sister, who I could never leave behind. My cousin Carina, who impacted me in the greatest way in the shortest amount of time. Lady Allyson, who was my second mother. And finally you. Royal Princess Annabeth Chase of the United Kingdom. Just those eight words could be enough to say the impact that you've had on my life._

_ But that's not enough. You are much more than that. To me, you are the mystery girl from the top of the arena. You're the girl who turns everyone's heads, but doesn't care what everyone else thinks because you are your own person. You don't like anyone else controlling your life. You're the beauty that everyone wants, but no one gets. Your golden blonde curls are only built for a princess and a princess you are. Your stormy gray eyes can trap a person in them for a long time and they don't even realize it. But they could also be intimidating, warning anyone who comes near to stay away because you aren't in the mood. They could also be comforting; a soothing gray color that shows your friendly side and how you could become friends with almost anyone you meet._

_ Your smile can light up an entire room and that's what you need to do now. Smile not because I'm gone, but smile because you know that these next seven weeks are only a blink of an eye when it comes to the amount of time I will love you: forever. I told you those magical three words last night and I truly meant them. Without love, you get nowhere in life. I want you to know that I love you and I always will._

_ I'll see you as soon as I can._

_Love, Percy_

The tears were flowing now. How could he do this to me? How? My anger flared and I threw the necklace against the wall without looking at it. Unfortunately, it didn't break. I tried again. Same result. I walked over to pick it up and try a third time when I noticed the inscription on the necklace.

The inscription was: "Love is unbreakable."

That threw me over the edge. Tears came flying down my face and I sagged to the floor, the necklace wrapped in my hands. I sat there for thirty minutes, crying, holding the necklace in my hands until Abby finally walked through the open door.

* * *

**A/N:**

**What did you guys think? Like I said in one of my other stories, this chapter is short, but very powerful.**

**Now for update news: Chapter Two will not be posted until after Christmas. I can guarantee that.**

**If you know me, and I think you do if you're reading this sequel, you know I always do a Question of the Chapter for each chapter that I post.**

**Here's the first Question of the Chapter: If you guys could have anything in the world, what would it be?**

**I would probably have multiple answers to this question, but I would have to choose the 'perfect' girl. That may sound a little cliche, but hear me out here. Life isn't as easy as stories on fanfiction perceive it to be. Anyone would love to go back to the medieval times and be a prince and fight with a sword and get the girl, but life isn't as easy as that. I can tell you from experiencing high school that's true. Having the 'perfect' girl wouldn't mean that she's 5'8, tan, athletic looking and a perfect 10, but having the girl that's perfect for you. A lot of the time when you're a kid, the adults always like to joke that you are going to marry your best friend (as long as their the opposite gender) and you deny that almost immediately. But if you truly think about it, you shouldn't be marrying anyone _other_ than your best friend. If you're going to live with them for the rest of your life, they have to mean a lot to you and you have to trust them completely. By thinking on it, you'll realize how much of a best friend they really are. I know I can't talk from experience on marriage since I'm seventeen and single, but I've realized at least that much. Anyway, back to answering the question. Having the 'perfect' girl would mean several things to me. One, it would mean that I would wake up to having my best friend beside me every day and falling asleep with her every night. It would give me someone to fight through the hard times with and celebrate the good ones. But most of all, even if I had a bad day at work or school or whatever, I would know that I would be coming home to my best friend in the whole wide world. (But seriously, if any of you are 5'8, tan, athletic looking and a perfect 10, don't hesistate to contact me, I'm always open ;) )**

**Anyway, enough of me ranting.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-Percy, Son of Neptune**


	2. Chapter 2

**Great job with the reviews guys, keep that up.**

**Chapter two stays in Annabeth's POV if you didn't know that already. The sequel is going to switch POVs every two chapters, so Percy will be chapters 3 and 4.**

**Finally, one last thing before the chapter. I had one absolutely phenomenal review for chapter one by raisa864, so I'm going to dedicate this chapter to her. This is the first time I've ever dedicated a chapter to someone, so congratulations.**

**Anyways, on with the story. Here's Chapter Two of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Still not Riordan.**

* * *

Chapter Two: Annabeth POV

"Annabeth!" Abby rushed over to me. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

I couldn't answer her. I was too busy crying. Eventually she noticed the letter. Abby was quiet for a minute or two while she read it. You could tell when she was getting close to the end.

Abby tried to keep it together, but eventually she couldn't help it. Tears flowed down her face just like they did mine. Abby held her arms out for a hug and I accepted. We shared that hug for a long time, awkwardly sitting on the floor, hugging and crying.

"I'm-I'm going to get Rayne," Abby eventually said. She stood up and wiped her eyes clear of tears. She made her way out of the room. Thirty seconds later, another person came running in. Long, lithe arms wrapped around my shoulders.

Rayne was able to hold it together, unlike Abby and I. When I turned to look at Rayne, I noticed Ashton standing awkwardly in the doorframe. Lord Ares and Lady Allyson joined him before I looked down at Rayne.

"What happened?" She asked me.

I couldn't answer her. I just motioned towards the letter and luckily Abby knew what I meant. She handed Rayne the letter, which she read and then passed back to Lady Allyson.

I had gotten my crying somewhat under control. Rayne did the right thing. She didn't say anything to me. I didn't need comfort at a time like this. I never liked having people comfort me. I was really independent.

Now that made me feel worse. That thought triggered a memory of what Percy had written in the letter: '…because you are your own person.' I broke down crying again. Three more people came walking into the room. One of them was my mother. I walked over to her and she embraced me in a hug. I buried my head in her shoulder.

"Shh, it's ok Annabeth. It's ok."

Despite how independent I was, my mother was the only person that could comfort me with something like this. We had that connection, just like Abby had with her brother.

Someone placed their hands on my shoulders and I immediately knew it was my dad. He's done it so many times, I've memorized what it feels like. I took a huge sniffle and turned to Isabel, who had arrived with my parents.

"Oh, Annabeth," she said. I walked into her arms. The now nine of us remained in Percy's room for about an hour. I was pretty under control, but I was sure that when the first reference of Percy came up I would break down again.

A messenger came walking briskly into the room. He approached my dad, who was talking with Lord Ares.

"Excuse me, my lord, but the ambassador is going to be arriving shortly," he said. That's right, the ambassador. My dad looked over at me.

He had reminded me of this yesterday. I would have to be there when the ambassador (he was from Denmark) arrived, but then he told me I could go off with Percy for the rest of the day. The thought of Percy made me start to tear up.

No, I wasn't about to start crying. I held myself together. I gave my dad a small nod, saying I was good enough to be there for the ambassador's arrival. He turned back to the messenger.

"Very well. We will be down there in twenty minutes. Thank you for the notice." With that, the messenger bowed and left the room. My dad came over to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Go and change. We'll see you down there." I slowly walked out of Percy's room, Isabel walking next to me. I ignored all of the looks I got on my way to my room. Surely the news had spread by now. Isabel helped me change into a more exquisite dress and she helped me down to the throne room, where we would be meeting the ambassador.

Isabel left when my parents showed up, so it was just the three of us sitting on our thrones. Within three minutes the ambassador was being led through the door. He looked to be in his late-forties, early-fifties. He looked to be pretty fit for a man his age. His salt-and-pepper hair was trimmed and combed and his blue eyes looked like they meant business. A younger man walked behind him. He looked to be around twenty-four or twenty-five and very well could be the ambassador's son. He was athletic-looking and he had quite the build. He was pretty tall and had sandy-blonde hair and blue eyes. Overall, he was _very_ attractive, except for one thing. He had a pretty long scar along the side of his face. He sent a smile at me, which I ignored. I recognized him of course. My dad stood up.

"Ambassador Castellan. It's quite the pleasure," my dad said, extending his hand to the older guy.

"The pleasure is all mine, your highness," the ambassador returned, while shaking my dad's hand. "Thank you for allowing us into your kingdom." He turned towards my mom and I. "My lady, princess, looking beautiful as always." Out of courtesy, both my mom and I bowed our heads in appreciation.

"We give you our hospitality, Mr. Ambassador," my dad said. "Now to business. You said you wanted to talk about a possible alliance?"

"Yes, my lord. We would like-"

"Not here. Please, come into the council room. We would have more privacy." My dad looked over at me as if to offer an invitation. I rose from my seat and followed the ambassador and my dad towards the war council room. Someone came up next to me as I was walking.

"Hey, do you want to hang out later?" I looked up at the guy who spoke. It was Mr. I'm-so-attractive, the Ambassador's son.

"I don't think so Luke," I replied harshly. "I promised my friends I would hang with them." We were almost at the council room. I started walking faster.

"Oh, playing hard to get, are we?" He said. "Hey, I heard that your boyfriend broke up with you this morning. I'm just giving you a chance to rebound. So, what do you say?" I immediately stopped walking. I turned around to face him.

"What did you say?"

"Hey, I get it," he replied. "Some little prince thought he could date the highest princess in the land and it didn't work out. Now here I am, the son of an ambassador and the defending champion of the World Championships, willing to offer my services. Now what do you say? I'll meet you at your room after dinner, just you and me?"

My anger immediately flared.

"What?" I basically yelled. "Who told you my boyfriend broke up with me?" When he didn't answer right away, I balled my fists and yelled louder, "Who told you? WHO?"

"Whoa," he replied. "Someone's a little temperamental."

"What?" I yelled again.

"Annabeth? What's going on?" My dad said from behind me. I turned and saw him standing in the doorframe of the council room. I gave Luke a glare and took off towards the council room.

"Your son's an ignorant jerk," I said to the ambassador when I passed him. His head shot up in surprise.

"Annabeth! What was that for?" My dad said. "Now apologize."

"Apologize?" I said. "Why should _I_ apologize? If anything, _he_ should be the one apologizing. He can't just come into our country and assume something about me that isn't true. I could have him killed right now for spreading lies about the royal family." I turned towards my dad. "I'm not going to be doing any negotiating when _he's_ acting like this." I pointed at Luke, who surprisingly still had a humorous look on his face.

"Now Annabeth-" My dad started.

"No, don't 'Now Annabeth' me." I turned full on Luke. "I don't care whether you won a stupid tournament. I _am_ heir to the throne here and I _can_ do anything I want to you. And right now, you're on the brink of getting killed. So if I were you, I'd watch what I said." I turned back to take a seat when I remembered something. I turned back around. "Oh, and my boyfriend did _not_ break up with me. In fact, if he were here right now, he probably would punch you in your face."

I looked over at my dad and the ambassador. Luckily, they were smart and decided to let it go.

"So, ambassador, please tell me. What exactly would the United Kingdom get out of this alliance with Denmark?" My dad asked.

"Increased trade relations," the ambassador replied, "would be the main component of the pact. We would promise lower prices and more quantity, among other things."

"Ok, and what would we provide you in return?"

"Naval support and protection," the ambassador said. "We have already reached an agreement with Russia in order to take advantage of their military ability. Having Russia's army and your navy would make us unstoppable."

My dad seemed to think about it for a while. Personally, I thought it was a lopsided deal. Full naval protection just for some lower prices? That didn't seem fair.

"Now hold on," I said. The ambassador's head snapped over to me, as if he was surprised that I spoke. "Let me get this straight. You want the full extent of our naval ability, which is the best in the world, and all we get in return is lower prices? Seems a little skewed to me." I turned towards my dad. "Don't you think dad? If we're protecting them fully, and as best as we can, shouldn't you think that we should get more out of this deal?"

"I believe that you are misinterpreting, princess," the ambassador said. "The United Kingdom would receive lower prices on all of our goods as well as no tariffs-"

"Whoa, now you never said no tariffs before," I replied.

"I included that in the 'among other things' section of our deal."

"Ok, fine. Now, what 'other things' are included? Like I said, we are giving you _full_ protection by our navy. You might as well be smart and input some more on our side of the deal. If we're not satisfied, we could easily call off the ships and leave you to rot. If you're smart, you'll give us some good details on this deal."

"Very well princess. You are quite the debater."

"I better be," I replied swiftly. "I'm going to be the one running the country after my dad."

"Very well," said the ambassador. "Like I said earlier, in return for your naval protection, we would give you lowered prices on all of our exports; 25% on food and drink, 10% on textiles and 7% on raw goods and materials. In return, you would provide us with manufactured goods at 15% higher selling price and no import tariffs. Also included would be 30% off our wood and lumber, which you could use to build more ships and increase the power of your navy. We would also include a lump sum of £200,000, paid to you in full by the end of this year. This deal would last as long as needed, but no longer than five years without new talks and a renewed deal."

I looked up at my dad and shrugged. It seemed like a good enough deal. Only one question remained though. My dad nodded back at me and turned towards the ambassador.

"Very well," he said. "The deal sounds good enough, but we still have one more question."

"Ask away," the ambassador replied.

"Who would we be protecting you from?"

"Oh, that's easy enough. Their country is in shambles and you don't have any connection with them, so this should be easy."

"Ok, and? Who is it?"

"Germany."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Uh, oh. Another cliffy? Will the UK take the deal? The first reaction is always 'No,' but you might be surprised.**

**I have to say this: I had an awesome time writing the part where Annabeth was mad at Luke; probably some of the most fun I've had writing ever. And to go along with that statement, when did Luke come into the picture? Obviously right now. He'll play a larger roll as the story goes along.**

**Now for the Question of the Chapter: What are some of your favorite stories on Fanfiction (and don't say all of mine just to suck up, be serious)?**

**Now that doesn't mean you _can't_ say one of my stories (i.e. The Princess and the Peasant), but give me something more than that please.**

**My two absolutely all-time favorite stories are Artificial Engagement by Akatsuki Child and Different Coasts by Avatard1234. If you haven't read those yet, I _seriously_ recommend them. They are _very_ good.**

**Anyway, make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	3. Chapter 3

**I had some great reviews for the last chapter. Keep those up guys.**

**I'll be short and sweet for this beginning author's note. Chapters Three and Four will be in Percy's POV.**

**Ok, enough of me talking, enjoy Chapter Three of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan, but I _can_ vote now.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Percy POV

"Perce." Sven pointed in the direction of the doorway.

I sighed. "This better be good news."

"My lord," the messenger said while bowing, "We have more news from Denmark." I motioned for him to continue. "Our messengers have learned that they have conscripted an alliance with Russia."

"Yes, we know this already," I said.

"I know, my lord, but new reports are saying the United Kingdom have joined them."

My head snapped over to Sven, who shrugged, and then back to the messenger.

"No, that can't be right," I said. "Are these reports confirmed?"

"I'm not sure yet sire."

"Ok. Find out and report back to me."

"Very well." The messenger bowed once more and left the room.

I took a seat. Those reports couldn't be right. I've only been in Germany for two weeks. Annabeth wouldn't go against me that quick. Sure, she probably hates me now, but she isn't stupid enough to start a war with me when I haven't had the time to explain myself.

That's right. It's been two weeks and I have yet to explain to her what is going on. Literally as soon as I got to Germany, Sven threw me into the spotlight. Within the week, news came that Denmark was preparing for war. And we were their target.

Yeah, sure, the Danes never really liked us, and it wasn't really news that the Russians had joined them, since we were rivals in practically everything possible, but the UK was something different altogether. There was never really any hostility between our two countries and especially now since Annabeth and I got together. If we were still together.

Added onto the fact that we were busy preparing for Worlds, the stress levels around the castle were pretty high. I remember last week when Sven relinquished his place in Worlds to me.

* * *

I had just been made aware of the rule that you have to compete for your native country, so I was busy preparing a short letter to London about the vacancy they would have in the tournament. Nothing going into detail about why I left, since I had no time on my hands, but a simple letter letting them know they needed a new competitor.

Sven was standing next to me when I learned of the rule and he immediately said I should take his place for Germany. I argued back and forth with him about it for a while, but eventually I accepted.

That night at dinner there was outrage. One knight was particularly opinionated.

"There's no way," he yelled. "We have a strict tournament and strict rules! You can't just relinquish your spot for someone who didn't even participate!" Other people started yelling and backing him up. I just sat there calmly at the head table, waiting for him to finish. Sven looked over at me wearily and asked if I knew what I was getting into.

I shrugged and replied, "The better question is, does he know what _he's_ getting into?"

I calmly stood up and made my way through the tables to the set of double doors at the end of the dining hall. Once I got there, I turned around and waited. Eventually it got quiet.

"Well, are you coming or not?" I directed the question at the knight. All eyes in the room flashed over to him.

"Coming where?" He eventually asked.

"The arena, of course," I replied. "It isn't knightly to fight in a dining hall."

"Are you challenging me?" He asked confidently.

"In response to your challenge, yes, I am challenging you. Now are you coming or not?"

"I haven't eaten yet."

I smirked. "Ok, fine. I'll give you two options. You either stay here and eat and give me the spot in Worlds, or you come to the arena and fight to prove I'm not worthy. Your choice." I turned and started to walk through the doors when I stopped as if I forgot something. I turned back around. "Oh, and Carina?" Her head popped up. "Can you fetch a healer? I have a feeling we're going to need one." Whispers started going around the dining hall. I hadn't just challenged him. I said practically to his face that I was going to demolish him so bad that he would need some medical treatment. "I'll be waiting in the arena." And with that I turned and walked out of the room.

It was a short walk to the arena. Sven caught up to me pretty quick.

"Should I get your armor?" He asked. My eyes flicked over to him before resting back on the path.

"Might as well," I replied. "But it's not like I'm going to need it."

"Percy, he's the best knight we have."

"Cool."

Sven stopped walking. "Seriously?" He asked. I stopped alongside him.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll see you in the arena." And with that I walked off.

Ten minutes later, Sven returned with my armor. Adler was by his side. They were in the middle of helping me put it on when I asked if the knight was coming.

"Oh yeah, he's coming," Adler said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"People are making their way over to the arena. Nobody would have left the dining hall if he hadn't."

"Ok, cool."

"Percy, _I _barely beat him in the tournament," Sven said. "It was a little lucky actually. You know how close I was to you in skill before you left. He's a little better than I am." I worked on tightening my armor, letting the silence grow. I looked up at him and then back down at my armor. "What?"

"You done?"

"What?"

"I'll take that as a yes," I said.

"But-"

"Sven stop worrying. I'll be fine. Plus, I could use a little time to unwind. I haven't gotten to do it since I got here." Sven didn't look convinced, but he eventually conceded.

"Ok, I'll stop."

"Thanks."

Sure enough, within five minutes of getting to the arena, the knight came striding out.

"Ok, I'm here. Now let's fight."

"Whoa," I said. "A little quick to jump on the horse, eh? We should have some rules first, don't you think?" When the knight didn't answer I continued, "Ok, very well. We will have one duel; no more, no less. If _I_ win, the place in Worlds is mine and everyone forgets about this. If _you_ win, I'm no longer the representative and you get to choose who will represent the country. Simple and easy. Does that sound like a deal?"

"Yes. You have a deal," he said.

"Oh and one more thing," I said, my voice escalating. I directed my words towards the crowd. "No betting is allowed on this duel! If I find out that money exchanged hands in any type, shape or form relative to this duel, the participants in the bet will be fined three times the money won, plus a fifty gold-piece fee regardless of the amount wagered. There are no exceptions." I turned back to the knight. "Now let's get this duel going." I placed my helmet on my head and nodded towards the knight. He nodded back, signaling that he was ready.

Immediately I threw a hard feint at him. In reaction, he threw up a response which I deflected off to my left side. A resounding crash reverberated from the arena a half-second later. A collective gasp arose from the crowd. As he was checking his armor, I circled around to another position.

Once he was ready, the knight threw a sharp overhand at me, which I easily blocked.

I chuckled on the inside. This guy was nowhere near me in skill.

He tried an overhand-backhand combination, but that failed as well. After a minute or two of playing with him, I figured I might as well wrap it up. I was getting hungry after all.

Feint the thrust, slice an overhand, backhand, another thrust, overhand, and finally one more thrust to disarm him. I sheathed my sword and headed back to the dining hall.

* * *

_Republic of Ireland_

_Competitor: Jason Grace, eighteen_

_Size of Party: 5 (not including attendants)_

I handed the paper to Carina. She was the one who was part of handling anything relative to Worlds.

"Looks like you have your first competitor Percy," she said once she read over the paper.

"Yeah," I said slowly. "I guess so." It was six days after we had heard the news that the UK had formed an alliance with Denmark, although it was still unconfirmed. Carina gave me a concerned look.

"Are you ok?"

I looked up at her and then back down at the floor. After a couple of seconds, Carina took a seat next to me on the bench.

"Percy," she said, placing a hand on my forearm, "you need to write that letter."

I sighed. "I know Carina, but I never have any time. Plus, I don't even know what to tell her!"

"Just write the truth," she replied simply. "She's got to be the one to accept it."

I sighed again. "Fine. I'll do it tonight." Carina just nodded her head.

"Come on. Let's go see how dad and Uncle Zeus are doing."

* * *

_Dear Annabeth,_

I sighed and looked out the window once more. The sun was setting on the warm spring day and summer was quickly approaching. You could hear the builders still working as they prepared the castle for the World Championships.

_Dear Annabeth,_

That was as far as I had gotten in almost an hour. I turned back to the paper, trying to think of something to say when a voice came through the doorway.

"Percy." It was Carina's voice. When I turned around, I couldn't believe what I saw.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Yay, another cliffy! I've sure written a lot of those lately. Who's it going to be? You'll just have to read on to find out.**

**I've implemented this into my other story, Scars and Recognition, and it worked well, so I'm going to implement it here. I'm going to be posting mostly trivia questions from now on for the Question of the Chapter. People who answer correctly will get the next chapter dedicated to them.**

**Here's the first one: In the prequel to this story, The Princess and the Peasant, how old is Annabeth's mom when Annabeth was born? This is a pretty easy look-and-find question, but I guarantee they will increase in difficulty as the story goes along.**

**Anyway, make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	4. Chapter 4

**Great job with the reviews last chapter guys. Keep that up.**

**A lot of people were mad at me about the cliffy in the last chapter and I completely understand. That issue is resolved in this chapter...well, sort of.**

**Like I said last chapter, correct answers for trivia questions will get the next chapter dedicated to you. Here is the winners for Chapter Three:**

**Random Anonymous, Shark3000, Boomboomshark8, soccerlover91 and Pokemonchen all gave the correct answer of twenty years old. Congrats everyone!**

**I think that you guys will love this chapter. This is the longest chapter so far in TPTGATW, covering almost seven pages in Microsoft Word.**

**Anyway, enjoy Chapter Four of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: I wonder how much Rick Riordan is worth.**

* * *

Chapter Four: Percy POV

"Abby?" I asked in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same question," she said quietly. She walked over and wrapped me in a hug, which I gratefully returned. After a minute or two of silence, she continued in the same quiet tone, "We found your letter."

"I wanted you to," I replied softly.

Abby broke apart from me. "Well, actually Annabeth did. I found her crying on the floor in your room."

I had to turn away from her. That panged my heart. Annabeth had been crying because of me. And those weren't good tears either. I immediately felt guilty. I should have woken Annabeth up when I left, or at the very least written her a letter as soon as I got to Germany. Now here I was, almost three weeks later, just starting to write that same letter.

I turned back to Abby ready to speak when she cut me off.

"Percy," she said. "What happened?" The silence drew out. I turned and looked out the window.

After a couple of seconds, I sighed and turned back to face my sister.

"Come on, let me show you," I said.

Abby and I walked down the dreary hallway outside of my room towards the infirmary. Nothing was said between the two of us as Abby followed me, only a half-step behind.

As we got closer to the infirmary, we passed more and more people, who started to whisper at the presence of my sister.

Like the strong-willed girl that she is, Abby ignored them. She was probably too focused on worrying about what I was going to show her anyway.

We finally made it to the infirmary wing of the castle and as we rounded the final corner, I saw Sven coming out of his father's room. The two of us met him in the middle of the hallway.

"Any better?" I asked simply. Sven shook his head.

"No. The healers are worried that they may not have many days left if they don't start to recover soon."

I paused for a second before replying. "Ok, keep me updated Sven."

Sven just nodded his head and walked off.

After a brief silence Abby asked, "Who was that?"

I glanced over at her. I had nearly forgotten she was there.

"That's Sven. He's the second-oldest of our cousins behind Carina, the girl who you already met."

"Why was he so gloomy?"

"His father's not in the best condition," I replied. "Here, let me show you."

The second we entered the door, Abby stopped cold. Two men were lying motionless on separate beds on opposite sides of the room. Both were sickly pale and both were breathing in rugged breaths. At least one healer was posted by each bed and I knew more were within shouting distance around the corner. A grim expression covered my face until Abby finally turned towards me.

"What's going on?"

"That," I said pointing to the man lying on the left bed, "is your Uncle Hades, and that," pointing to the right bed, "is your Uncle Zeus, the King of Germany."

Abby was in shock to say the least. Two guys in their mid-to-late forties were restrained to infirmary beds, unable to move because of a phantom sickness. But that wasn't all. These were probably two of the strongest, healthiest men I knew, and yet here they were, lying in the infirmary.

While Abby came to reason about her two uncles, I made my rounds to the two healers positioned at the side of the beds to check up on their conditions. Nothing had changed, like Sven said, so I collected Abby and walked her back up to my room, where I assumed she was going to stay and I was correct. Her belongings were already placed on the second bed in the room.

Fifteen minutes later, a lady with dark chocolate brown hair and brown eyes walked into our room. She was wearing a plain white dress and she had gold ribbons in her hair. I recognized her as Queen Hera.

"Hey Aunt Hera," I said. "What brings you here?"

"I heard my niece was in town and I decided to visit her. After all, it has been almost sixteen years since I've seen her."

"So this is-" Abby started.

"Queen Hera," our aunt said while extending her right hand, "But there is no need for such formalities. Just call me Aunt Hera or just Hera if you please."

"Nice to meet you Aunt Hera," Abby replied while accepting the handshake. "Uh, sorry we couldn't meet on better terms."

"Understandable Abby." The Queen sighed. "Things were already stressful enough with having to prepare for the World Championships in a couple of weeks and now with the war preparations and both Olympii brothers falling ill, things have started to get out of control. Without someone like Percy or Sven, surely the country would have fallen apart by now."

I took my gaze off of my aunt after that compliment. Not many people can say that they're the reason for holding a country together.

"Wait a minute. You said something about war preparations?" Abby asked.

"I'll fill you in later," I said quickly. I had an important war meeting soon and I still needed to get a shower. I'm sure Abby needed one as well after her long trip from Wales.

"Ok," Abby replied.

"You have that meeting in forty-five minutes, right?" Hera said.

"Yeah and I still need a shower. Do you think Carina would mind if Abby came along to her meeting?"

"No, I think she would actually appreciate the extra help."

"Ok, that works out great then," I said. "Abbs, how long were you planning on staying here?"

"A couple of days at least. Mom's really worried and I said I would get a status update for her."

"Ok, do you mind helping Carina with the Worlds preparations?"

"No, I don't mind."

"Ok, sounds good. I'll meet you guys after my war meeting. Aunt Hera, can you show Abby the way to Carina's room?"

"Of course."

"Great. I'm going to get my shower now."

I was feeling quite refreshed after my shower. Abby jumped in right after me, so I didn't get a chance to talk to her. I assumed that she was going to help Carina afterwards.

I made my way down the stairs towards the center of the castle. Several people gave me a nod or a small bow as I walked past them and I quickly acknowledged them.

As I rounded the last corner, the two large mahogany doors came into view, each with an intricate gold-plated handle. Two guards were positioned on either side of the mahogany doors and they moved to open them with my arrival. I shot each of them a quick thanks as they closed the doors behind me.

When I got to the council room, everyone was already there, even with me being seven minutes early.

The seven other guys were already positioned around the cherry oak table and a map of the northern region of Germany was already laid out on its surface. I nodded towards each of the men as I entered, taking my seat between Sven and Lord Aldrich. The meeting convened almost immediately.

"Ok, we know their attack has to come from one of two places," Swordsmaster Engel stated. "We're going to focus on a possible northerly attack at today's meeting." Swordsmaster Engel was usually in charge of these meetings, with the rest of us inputting information as needed.

"Very well," I said. "Please continue." Engel just nodded.

"We're going to assume for now that the United Kingdom did not conscript this alliance with Denmark, as you say."

"Yes. I do not believe that they would have turned against me so quickly."

"Therefore, a naval attack would be out of the question."

"Hold on," Lord Luther cut in, "Denmark and Russia still have navies, correct, so a naval attack isn't completely out of the question."

"This is true," Lord Sjörd stated, "but they know that our navy is better than theirs and Russia is more likely to want to use their army if anything."

"What if they just use them to transport their troops?" Sven asked. "Like not to battle with, but just to put their troops behind our lines or in someplace we wouldn't expect them."

"Sven brings up a good point," I said. "If I may suggest, let's put the navy on code yellow and focus them more on the Baltic Sea rather than the North Sea." I pointed to the body of water to our northeast. "We have Poland as a buffer between us and Russia, so they are unlikely to attempt a land assault through Poland without having another enemy against them. Our ships in the Baltic will be able to alert us if there is any transportation coming from Russia to Denmark."

"Only yellow?" Engel asked. "Why not code orange?"

Code orange was basically the same thing as code yellow except the navy would be granted the ability to return fire or engage in battle if it sees fit, but there was a key reason I didn't want code orange.

"I would honestly prefer if we can get out of this situation unscathed," I replied. "The ball is in Denmark's court now. If we just go around and attack their ships, surely they will respond with war and I don't want to lose men. Code yellow will let us aware of Denmark's actions, but if they happen to call for a cease in war preparations, we will happily accept. I just don't want to provoke them anymore that is necessary."

"Wise words from a wise ruler. I vote to accept his preliminary action," Engel said.

The other six men in the council room voiced their accent.

"I will order code yellow to the navy tomorrow."

"Very well. Let's continue with the meeting."

We wrapped up the meeting within the next two hours after discussing some very important details, which we would go over again in the next meeting.

I made my way out of the council room and up through the corridors to Carina's room. Carina was usually very busy with the Worlds preparation, so she was usually up late most days.

As was the usual, Carina's light was on in her room as I approached. Several female voices could be heard from the inside. It seemed like they were arguing over something.

I knocked softly on the door to let them aware of my presence before opening it and walking into the room. The arguing died down almost immediately.

When I stepped through the door, six girls ranging from the ages of fourteen to twenty-three were seated on the floor around a pile of scattered papers. I recognized all of them immediately.

Abby, Carina and her sister Elisabeth were seated closest to me. Carina had a big notepad in her hand and a map of the castle was laid out in front of her. Abby was seated to her left and she had a single ink pen in her right hand, so I inferred that she was the one taking notes on the meeting. Elisabeth had changed a lot since the last time I saw her, even if it was only a couple of months. She had grown taller and her hair was starting to lighten. From what Carina told me, she had her eyes on one of the trainees in the swordsmanship school and she had become a lot more outgoing since she met me. Elisabeth sat to the right of her sister.

The next two girls always seemed to trick me into thinking that they were twins, even though they were four years apart. Angelika and Anastasia Austerlitz were nineteen and twenty-three years old, respectively. They both had blonde hair, but Angelika had blue eyes while her sister had green. They were the same height and both were always tanned. They worked amazing as a team, as evidenced by the three neatly-stacked piles of papers in-between them.

The final girl was Carina's best friend and to this day I'm still not sure whether she likes me as a brother or for real, because she is always denying that she 'likes' likes me, but then she'll flirt with me all the time. Her name is Felicia, which derives from the Latin Felix, meaning 'happy' or 'lucky.' It fits her quite well, because she is always happy and she has the best luck. If I'm ever in a bet, or about to get into a bet, I always think of her, because she always seems to beat me in whatever we do. Felicia is not your typical German. In fact, she moved here from Sweden when she was five, so she has barely any recollection of Sweden at all. She has light blonde hair and bright blue eyes like the typical Swedish girl and she has the typical looks for one as well. Her skin is sort of pale because the Swedes live in the north and the climate there is cooler, so their skin is adapted to having less sun radiation exposed to it and thus it is paler. It's harder to tell with Felicia though because she's been living in Germany for the last eleven years of her life, so her skin is darker than the typical Swede. Either way though, she was still one of the most attractive girls in the castle.

"So, what were you six arguing about?" I asked after I closed the door behind me.

"Well," Elisabeth started, "Angelika thought it would be funny to put the British and the Irish right next to each other for the entire two weeks."

"Well, it would though!" Angelika protested.

"I don't see the problem with it," I said with a straight face. "Angelika, you'll be in charge."

After a slight pause, she answered timidly, "In charge of what?"

"Building the wall between them, of course."

The other five girls let out a short laugh and Angelika's facial expression turned into a pout.

The night continued like that. I got caught up on their preparations, and jokes were cracked every once in a while. Eventually we all had to call it a night and I led Abby back to our room.

Three days later Abby left, which was probably a good thing, considering what happened at dinner the night after she left.

Let me explain. Here at the castle in Berlin, we have this artifact which is called the Schatz, which literally means 'treasure' in German. It is one of the most sacred objects in all of Germany and easily the most valuable. There have been only two times in the history of Germany that the Schatz has been attempted to be stolen. The first time, the robbers succeeded in taking the Schatz, but they did not make it out of the castle grounds. The Schatz was retrieved and placed back in its holding area. After this incident, the security around the Schatz was quadrupled and it is now where it is today.

The second attempt to steal the Schatz happened around seventy-five years ago, but it was shut down immediately. Four of the five robbers were killed and the fifth was never seen again, which proved the legitimacy of the security that surrounded the Schatz.

Going back to dinner the night after Abby left, things were going along as normal; the nobles were seated, I opened dinner and the food was served hot and delicious. Right as dinner was finishing up, a messenger came sprinting into the dining hall.

"The Schatz has been stolen!"

The dining hall first turned quiet, trying to decipher what the messenger had said, but then chaos quickly formed.

My mind went into overdrive and I immediately attempted to analyze the situation. The Schatz was in the center of the castle, surrounded on all sides. The best soldiers at the castle were always positioned there, rotating on four-hour shifts. The guards were always alert and on point, so the question was, how was it stolen? Something clicked in my mind and one word formed out of the chaos. Diversion.

I grabbed Sven, who was sitting next to me that night, by his arm. "Follow me!" I yelled through the confusion. He seemed to understand. I quickly scanned the area for the messenger and spotted him making his way out the east-side door.

I took two steps and jumped off the stage, not bothering to check to see if Sven was following me. I weaved my way through the chaotic crowd, pushing my way out the door. I lost the messenger, but I knew there was only one way out of the castle from this side. I quickly snaked my way through the corridors and out into the setting sun and ever-growing shadows.

I came to a complete stop, quickly scanning the horizon back and forth for the messenger. Sven pulled up beside me, breathing heavy.

"Percy, what's going on?" He asked.

"The messenger," I said quickly, turning towards him. "I think he was creating a diversion. There's no way they could have stolen the Schatz without raising some type of alarm that came straight to me first. We find that messenger; we stop this before it ever gets started."

"But what if he's actually telling the truth?"

I finally located the messenger in the distance.

"Sven, I have no doubt that the Schatz was not stolen before that messenger walked into the dining hall. Something's up and we're going to find out what. Come on." I quickened my pace, trying to get closer to the messenger, who had slowed to a walking pace once out of the castle.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sorry for the cliffy guys, I just couldn't end this any other way without having to change the rest of the story.**

**Speaking of the rest of the story, I did some planning out yesterday and as of right now, TPTGATW will tentatively have 20 chapters. That's right 20 chapters. If you think about it, I will probably end up writing more than that anyway, but the number as of right now is 20.**

**So, what did you think of the chapter? Incorporating the Schatz into it was one of the major events I had started to plan out, but it won't be resolved until at least Chapter Seven because Chapters Five and Six are in Annabeth's POV.**

**The Question of the Chapter: What is your favorite pick-up line? This can either be favorite as in bad/cheesy or favorite as in it's a really good pick-up line. This isn't really a trivia question, but I will post some of my favorites either on my profile or in the next chapter, depending on how many I get.**

**I'll give you guys both a bad one and one I think is actually good. Here's the bad one: 'I think you're the most beautiful girl I've seen...on a Wednesday.' Wow, that might have been okay if the 'on a Wednesday' part wasn't added. Anyway, here's one I think is actually good: 'If I were to ask you out on a date, would your answer be the same as the answer to this question?' Personally, I think this is brilliant. My reasoning: if she says no, if you asked her out, she would have to say yes, and if she says yes, her answer when you asked her out would also be yes, so it's a fail-proof solution to asking a girl out.**

**Tell me what you guys think of mine as well as some pick-up lines of your own.**

**Also, make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm back!**

**I knew you were all worried about me, but here I am! For your information, I will NOT be discontinuing any of these stories. I want to let you guys know that right away. I really got out of Fanfiction for a while (gee, like you guys couldn't tell me that) and I was really busy the past couple weeks when I finally got back into it. In advance, I'll let you guys know that it might be a little while before I upload the next chapter for a story, since I have nothing written after this for any of my stories.**

**Anyway, I'm sure you guys are happy I'm back, so I'll get on with the story.**

**This is more of a filler chapter, but oh well. A chapter is a chapter, amiright?**

**Now enjoy Chapter Five of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan, I am not.**

* * *

Chapter Five: Annabeth POV

"NO!" I immediately shouted, quickly standing up out of my seat. "No way!" The seat fell to the floor with a crash.

I had obviously startled the other three occupants of the room. Hermes was the quickest to react.

"My lady, you are misunderstanding-" he started. I cut in before he had the chance to continue.

"No I'm not. There is absolutely no way this is going to happen."

"Ambassador Castellan, we're going to have to decline your offer," my dad said calmly. "Now if you excuse me and my daughter, I believe we have some friends we need to check up on."

I sent a smirk and a glare at the ambassador and strode out of the room behind my father.

* * *

_Annabeth,_

_ I'm sorry this letter is so late. I'd like to say I never had any time to write it, but truthfully I didn't know what to write. I still don't really know what to write, but I'll try to explain everything that happened. You deserve at least that much._

_ It started the day before I was set to leave, I guess. You had done something with your father that day, so you didn't hang out with us. When I finally went back to my room that night, I was surprised to find a letter on my desk addressed to me. It was from my uncle, the King of Germany. Stated plainly, both of my uncles were sick and they needed me to rule._

_ I remember staying up for another hour before deciding to leave. That was my first mistake. I should have at least gotten you and Abby up and said good-bye to you two before I left. I immediately got the feeling that the letter wouldn't do me enough justice. And for that I am truly sorry._

_ When I got to Germany, life definitely sped up. I'm not going to deny that. However, that still doesn't make up for the fact that I blew you off for three weeks._

_ I should probably fill you in on what's happening around here. As you probably know, I'm no longer the representative for the UK at Worlds in a couple of weeks. Luckily my cousin decided to relinquish his position in the tournament to me, so I'll still be competing._

_ As I said above, both of my uncles are sick. The healers say that they don't have much longer unless they start getting better soon. Everyone at the castle is starting to get worried. Added with the stress of preparing for Worlds, you could say life is pretty hectic around here._

_ I'm doing well as you would probably expect. Abby visited this week and she'll probably be on her way home when you get this letter._

_ As for Rayne and Ashton, I just found out this week that I will be unable to attend their wedding. Abby gave me the official date and unfortunately I have a conflict that I am unable to traverse. I'm sending something with Abby to be said at the wedding. There's no need to tell Rayne; I've already sent her a letter informing her of my absence._

_ I hope that helps clarify everything from the day I left up until now._

_ I miss you. Have fun at the wedding. I'll be there in spirit._

_Percy_

* * *

I was still thinking about Percy's letter three weeks later. I had arrived in Caemarfon two days prior and currently I was in Rayne's room along with Ashton, Abby and Lady Allyson. We were discussing wedding plans.

"It should be red and blue," Rayne was arguing. We were discussing the main colors the wedding was going to be designed around.

"Green and yellow looks better," Ashton replied.

The two of them went back and forth for a couple more seconds. I looked over at Lady Allyson and gave her a wry smile. Rayne and Ashton were perfect for one another. Lady Allyson rolled her eyes back at me.

"Red and blue!"

"Green and yellow!"

"How about red and green?"

Both Rayne and Ashton stopped on a dime and turned to look at who had spoken.

"What?" Abby said. "Red and green. One color from each of you. Plus, it's the colors of the Welsh flag."

Rayne and Ashton looked at each other. The sixteen-year-old girl made a reasonable amount of sense.

"That's…fine by me," Rayne said slowly. "Ash?"

"Uh, sure. That sounds great."

"Ok, great," Lady Allyson said. "I'll get that to the wedding planner tonight." She wrote down the two colors on a tablet at her feet. "Ok, next. Bridesmaids and groomsmen. Have you two asked anyone yet?"

"I was going to do that now," Rayne said. The twenty-year old turned to look at me. "Annabeth, will you be my Maid of Honor?"

A huge smile formed on my face. "Of course I will Rayne!" I got up and gave her a hug.

When the two of us broke apart, Rayne turned towards Abby, a somewhat sullen look on her face.

"Sorry Abby. I've known Annabeth longer."

"It's fine," Abby said. "I understand."

"But," Rayne said quickly, "you'll still be my bridesmaid, right?"

"Of course." Two identical smiles appeared on the girls separated by a mere four years in age.

"Ok, so that's two," Lady Allyson said. "Who's your third one?"

"I was thinking of asking Chloe and Kaylee."

"The twins?" Abby said the same time Ashton asked, "Oliver's sisters?"

"Yeah. What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing," Ashton said quickly. "But wouldn't Rosalyn be a better pick? I mean, she's your cousin after all."

Rayne swore under her breath. "I totally forgot about her. I'll have to ask her."

"Ok," Lady Allyson said. "So you have Annabeth as your Maid of Honor and then Abby and Rosalyn, as long as she accepts, as your other bridesmaids, correct?"

"Yeah. But is there any way we can include Chloe and Kaylee? I feel bad excluding them after having them be my next-in-line bridesmaids."

"I'm sure we can find something for them."

"Ok."

"So, Ashton," Lady Allyson said. "Groomsmen. Any ideas?"

"Well," he started, "I was initially going to ask Percy, but he said he couldn't make it."

"Ok, well who else did you have in mind?"

"I was definitely going to ask Grover and Adam, and then I was thinking of asking Oliver as a third."

"That sounds fine with me. And then Grover will be your Best Man, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah," Ashton replied.

"Where are you guys having the wedding?" I asked. The couple looked at each other before Rayne replied.

"We were thinking the beach down by the river," she said. "Have it right before sunset and then we can come back to the castle for the after party."

"That sounds amazing Rayne," I replied.

"Yeah," Abby inputted, "I can't wait after hearing that."

"Plus," Ashton added, "there's going to be a lot of people there, so the open space is a must."

"How many people were you thinking?" I asked.

"Probably a couple hundred," Rayne said. "Right mom?"

"A couple hundred?" I cut in before Lady Allyson had the chance to confirm. I looked over at Abby and saw that her mouth was open in shock as well.

"Why are you so surprised Annabeth?" Lady Allyson said calmly. "There will probably be a couple thousand at your wedding."

I felt like I was going to faint. A couple _thousand_ people? Just for a stupid wedding? I couldn't picture it in my head, but then again, it wasn't that hard to believe.

"Yeah," Rayne added. "I'm only a minor princess, Annabeth. You're the royal princess. Royal weddings don't happen that often if you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, I know. It's just…I can't really wrap my mind around having thousands of people at my wedding just to watch me walk down the aisle. It doesn't seem right, but then again, it does, you know?"

"No, not really," Abby said simply. I gave her a look and she returned a sheepish smile.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so easygoing if I were you Abigail," Lady Allyson said. "Your wedding won't be much different."

It was my turn to smile as the German princess thought ahead to her own wedding.

"Anyway," Lady Allyson said, getting back on track, "Back to this wedding. Who were you two thinking of officially inviting? Rayne, let's start with you."

"What do you mean?" She asked. "I was under the assumption that this was a public wedding."

"It is. Didn't Ashton tell you the plan?"

"Um, no."

Every gaze in the room turned towards Ashton.

"Uh, well, I sort of forgot to tell her," he said awkwardly. Three pairs of eyes rolled in their owners' heads as Rayne sent her fiancée a glare.

"Well," Lady Allyson said. "Let's get you caught up then." I caught Ashton's eye for a split second before he looked away. "Since this is going to be a public wedding, Ashton came up with the idea of having a 'General Admission' section. This way anyone who wants to attend can attend and they can still get a seat. The wedding party and the 'invited' guests will have their own section which will be reserved in the first five or so rows. Those will be like the parents of the bride and groom as well as relatives and friends and family. That way they don't have to fight for a seat close to the front."

"That's a great idea Ash," Rayne said. "I just wish that you had told me before this meeting."

"Sorry," he said quietly.

With that, over the next few hours the invited guests were petered out, which included several distinguished guests, including my father. A trip to the boutique was scheduled and musicians were compiled. Overall, it looked like it was going to turn out to be quite the wedding.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Again, I apologize for the very, very long wait, but I hope you guys stick with me through the end.**

**I forgot this at the top, but I had some very good pick-up lines from reviews for chapter 4. I'll post some up on my profile later today.**

**Now, BIG BIG news! For those of you who are on Twitter, I have news for you! I am now on Twitter! Well, I already was personally, but you get the point. Follow me at psonfanfiction and you will get updates on chapter postings, I'll answer some reviews and any questions you guys have for me (within reason, of course). If you have a Twitter account, just hop, skip and jump over to my profile and follow me!**

**Now for the Question of the Chapter: Since we're on the topic of weddings for this chapter, I thought I would keep the trend going and give you guys an easy question for today. The question is as follows: Approximately how many people watched the royal wedding (between William and Kate) and were you included in this number? I'll give shout-outs to correct answers like always.**

**Thanks so much in advance guys for sticking with me. I really appreciate it.**

**Now make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	6. Chapter 6

**And we're back once more! Two chapters in eight days? That's right, I need to get you guys back in the groove of things, just like I need to do with myself.**

**This is a quick turnaround, so not many reviews for last chapter, but I'll still shout-out to some correct answers. Ok, maybe only one person got it right, but oh well. Like I said, it was a quick turnaround. Congratulations to _annabeth the wise girl_ for answering with the correct answer of 3 billion people (some accounts say 2 billion, but some also say 3 billion, so I accepted both answers. Too bad she was the only one saying either). This chapter is dedicated to you.**

**In other words, I posted some of my favorites of pick-up lines to my profile. Check over there to see if you made the list.**

**Also on my profile is my Twitter account. My username is _psonfanfiction_, so follow me if you have a Twitter! If you were following me, you would know that a chapter would be coming out today, so you could expect it.**

**Anyway, onto the chapter. This is another wedding chapter and the final one in Annabeth's POV before the actual wedding, which is in Chapter Nine. As stated in Chapter Five, Percy will not be making an appearance, but nonetheless, he will still be there in spirit.**

**Enough of me blabbering. Enjoy Chapter Six of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Has Riordan released a release date for House of Hades?**

* * *

Chapter Six: Annabeth POV

"Ah, Paris," I said as I stepped off the ship and onto the beach. "The most beautiful city on the mainland. It's been too long, my love."

"When was the last time you were here?" Lady Allyson asked.

"Five years, I think."

"It's only been two for me." I sent a glare over at Abby.

"Thanks for showing me up, Abbs."

"No problem," she replied with her signature smile. Man, that smile could be annoying sometimes. I turned away from the girl and redirected my gaze back at the beautiful skyline.

"So, Annabeth," Rayne said, "where's this boutique you were talking about?"

"Not far," I said. "It's pretty close to the inn."

"Ok, sweet," Rosalyn joined in. "I hate walking."

I saw Rayne roll her eyes at her cousin. The five of us climbed into the carriage once our bags were stowed away.

Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the inn. Well, sort of.

"This is an inn?" Rosalyn asked, amazed. "You call this an inn?"

"It's more like a palace," Abby agreed.

I took another look at the 'inn' and realized the girls were right. It looked more like a palace after all. The gold-colored pillars rose into the air, creating numerous arches of pure beauty. Old, Victorian style windows stood above each arch, with a central domed structure above the entrance. Through one of the archways you could see a large courtyard behind the palace along with a fountain of some god riding a ram.

Inside, glistening marble lined the walls behind the reception desk with a granite counter separating you and the employees. We got the keys to our rooms and within minutes we were all relaxing on the queen-sized beds. That didn't last for long though.

"Get up, get up!" Lady Allyson practically yelled through each doorway. "Why are you ladies so lazy? We're only here for three days, so we should get to the boutique as soon as possible in order to give them enough time to get you ladies fitted correctly."

I sighed, but I knew she was right. We would have to get fitted tonight so we could take the dresses home with us when we left France. Otherwise we'd have to come back for a second trip and that would not be good for the wedding plans.

I slowly got up from the bed and made my way into the common room of our suite. Unsurprisingly, I was the first one to come out of their bedroom. But, within five minutes the rest of the girls had come out of their rooms and the five of us were on our way to the boutique.

"So, Annabeth," Rosalyn started. "What's this boutique called? You said it was pretty popular."

"Yeah, it is," I replied. "It's called Chanel."

"Chanel?" Lady Allyson asked.

"Yeah. Have you heard of it?"

"Bits and pieces," she replied. "Everyone gave it five stars."

"I'd give it six if I could. They have everything here. You should be able to find a wedding dress here no problem, Rayne."

"Well that's a relief," Rayne said sarcastically.

When we pulled up to the boutique, a few people were entering and leaving, but otherwise it didn't seem very crowded. That was a good thing.

I led the way in and almost immediately a girl of around twenty-five came up to us, speaking rapid French. She was obviously an employee.

My parents had taught me some French when I was younger, so I could get the just of what she was saying, but there was no way I was coming up with a reply, so I just reverted to English.

"Yes. We're looking for wedding dresses." The girl had asked if we needed any help.

"Very well," she said. Her English had a slight French accent on it, but other than that it was impeccable. "May I ask who is getting married?"

"I am," Rayne said quickly.

"Ok, and you are her mother?" The girl asked, pointing at Lady Allyson.

"Yes."

"And you three are her bridesmaids, correct?" Damn, this girl was good. Then again, I guess she had to be.

"That's correct," I replied.

"Very well. If you could follow me, we'll start with the tall, brown-haired girl and then we'll get the bridesmaids dresses after that." I looked over at Rayne and we shared a shrug before following the girl farther into the boutique.

* * *

Four hours later, Rayne was still trying on dresses. I was starting to get bored, but I knew that when I got married I was probably going to be the same way, if not worse.

When Rayne finally chose a dress, I had to admit it was well worth the wait. Little things had to be tweaked here and there, but otherwise it was perfect. Rayne loved it and she looked perfect wearing it. I could only imagine what she would look like at her wedding in three weeks.

"Ok, now that that is settled," Ariel said, "We can move on to the bridesmaids." Ariel was the girl who was helping us with the dresses. I had learned her name an hour in. She was actually quite nice and easygoing. "I'm assuming you have picked out the color scheme by now?"

"Yeah," Rayne replied. "Red and green."

"Any preference, red or green?"

"Not really. Both would be great though."

"Ok, let's head over-" Ariel started.

"Rayne! Rayne!" Rosalyn yelled. "How about this?"

We all turned towards Rosalyn, who was holding one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. Even better, it went almost perfectly with Rayne's dress.

The dress Rosalyn was holding was dark green; not quite forest green, but darker than regular green. It was a strapless dress that ran the entire way down to the ankles. It was only one solid color, but it fit perfectly for the situation. I turned towards Rayne.

"Yes," I said simply.

"You sure?" She asked. I nodded my head in confirmation. "How about you Abby?"

"I'm definitely not against it," she replied. "It would be better though if someone tried it on."

"Rosalyn, why don't you?" Lady Allyson suggested. "You were the one that found it."

Rosalyn was shaking her head. "Annabeth should," she said. "The Maid of Honor is the most important bridesmaid. She should be the one to try it on."

"Very well," Ariel said, taking the dress from Rosalyn. "Miss Annabeth, if you would come with me, we can get you changed." I gladly followed the twenty-five year old woman back to the changing room. Five minutes later, I stepped out.

"Oh my god, it's beautiful," Rayne said.

I had to agree. The dress was a little bit long and it was tight in my hips, but other than that, I absolutely loved the dress.

"Rosalyn, you picked a good one," I said simply.

"Psh, it was nothing," she replied. "Can I try it on though?"

"Yeah, sure," I told her. Rosalyn followed Ariel and I back to the changing rooms.

Two-and-a-half hours later, everyone had tried their dresses on, including Abby who tried it on after Rosalyn. The four of us got our measurements taken and Ariel told us the seamstress would receive them that night. We left the boutique around an hour before midnight, ready to come back the next day to try the dresses on once more.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Nothing really amazing happened in this chapter. It was sort of another filler chapter before the wedding. The real action starts in Chapters Seven and Eight and then after the wedding things really start to take off. Percabeth reunites in Chapter Ten (well, Eleven actually). Mark your calendars everyone!**

**This is another reminder to follow me on Twitter (_psonfanfiction_) before the Question of the Chapter.**

**Now to the Question of the Chapter: Have you ever been a key part of a wedding (i.e. bridesmaid or groomsman) and if so what was your role?**

**I have not been a part of a wedding at all, although my cousin got married last October. Her wedding was pretty awesome, I've got to give her props for that.**

**In other news, the link to the bridesmaids' dresses will be up on my profile shortly after the uploading of this chapter.**

**Now, make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	7. Chapter 7

**And we're back. It's been a month and a half since I've updated this story, but if you've been following me, you would know why. More information will be at the end.**

**Ok, no trivia question from last chapter, but a lot of you gave me your input on weddings. Not many have participated in one, but if they did it was mostly flower girls. A couple bridesmaids here and there, but other than that not much.**

**Now onto the story. We move back to Percy's POV here for the next two chapters, which have some important events happen in them. We pick up with Percy and Sven today as they are chasing the messenger who had just announced the Schatz's disappearance.**

**Enjoy Chapter Seven of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Started reading the books over again. You start to notice little things foreshadowing the future once you've read it fifteen times.**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Percy POV

"Percy, look," Sven said, pointing in front of us.

"I see it," I replied.

We were currently following the messenger that had announced the Schatz's disappearance. It looked like he had just joined up with someone else, who had handed him a suspicious bag. Sven and I saw him stop and open the bag. After a couple of seconds he started to walk again.

Sven and I were following the messenger at quite a distance. I quickly turned to look back at the castle and found that I couldn't see it anymore. We were heading into dangerous territory.

"Percy!"

I quickly turned back around and I followed Sven's gaze. The messenger was now getting on a horse. We had to react quickly or else we would be left behind. I saw the messenger take off. I quickly scanned the area and noticed a stable about a half-mile up the road. I was about to turn to Sven when he grabbed my arm.

"Percy, come on!"

I turned to find one of my most trusted handlers approaching quickly with Blackjack. He skidded to a stop right in front of the two of us and hopped off the second horse, which I recognized now as Sven's.

I hopped onto Blackjack in one fluid motion and Sven quickly followed suit on War Symbol. We took off in a flash.

The two of us rounded the left bend and we saw the messenger ahead of us by about a half-mile. Thank the gods Sven had thought to fetch our horses or else we would be totally lost.

We reached the crest of a small hill and I slowed Blackjack to a trot. We were gaining on the messenger at a fast pace.

Sven slowed beside me.

"Why are you slowing down?" He asked. "We can overtake him easily."

"Not anymore," I said, pointing down in the valley. The messenger had just met up with several other horsemen. We were now outnumbered 5-to-1.

I heard Sven swear under his breath.

"Come on, let's keep pace behind them."

We followed the messenger and his crew for another two hours, occasionally having to close the gap in order to keep them in sight.

We were at a walking pace now, which was good considering that Blackjack couldn't gallop for hours upon end.

"Percy," Sven said suddenly as if realizing something. "They're heading towards Grunewald."

Grunewald. Green wood. I recognized the name. It was a forest located on the western side of Berlin and easily the biggest forest in the region. We had to be careful. We could easily lose them in this forest.

"It looks like they're stopping."

"Preparing themselves before they head in," I told him. "Come on, let's get a little closer. I want to see what they're up to."

We halved the distance separating us before I called a stop. Sven and I hopped off our horses in order to give them a short break and they headed over to nibble on some grass.

"What are they doing?" Sven asked as we gazed in the messenger's direction. The messenger was currently holding the Schatz up to a fire they had just made. "They're going to burn it!"

"They won't burn it," I said calmly. "It's too valuable for that. He'll want to make as much money off it as he can. He's not stupid enough to destroy such a profit."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We'll wait until nighttime and then take it back under the cover of darkness if we can."

"Why not go now?"

"He'll move. This isn't his final campsite. There's still several hours of daylight left. He'll want to get Grunewald started tonight. But that'll be his downfall."

Just as I said that, the messenger packed the Schatz back into its bag and he barked an order. I saw one man put out the fire as the others saddled their horses back up. They had finished their meal and were now ready to go.

Without even looking I sent out a quick, high-pitched whistle. Blackjack trotted over to me, War Symbol quickly following suit.

I mounted Blackjack and Sven did the same on War Symbol. Sven was about to head out into the road when I stopped him.

"Wait," I said. Sven brought War Symbol to a stop right before they would have been out in plain sight.

"What?"

I took a look at the messenger. He was looking up the hill.

"He's checking for a chase. Let's let him get on his way before we close up on him."

The messenger turned back, seeming satisfied that he wasn't being followed. Sven and I gave him a minute or two before heading out.

"He's entering the forest now," Sven told me.

"I see. Let's close up the gap a little." We urged our horses into a slow trot.

* * *

Four hours later I noticed the gap was getting smaller. I looked up at the darkening sky before back down at the messenger's party.

"Sven, stop," I told him. "The gap's closing too fast. He's looking for a campsite. We have to be really careful now."

"Ok," he replied. "There's a small clearing ahead. Want to set up camp there?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. We can continue on foot. He shouldn't be too far away."

When we reached the clearing it was obvious that the messenger had considered it before continuing. The clearing was just too small though. There was no way he could fit ten men and their horses in this small clearing.

We waited another hour for the darkness to really creep in. Sven and I had agreed on no fire, seeing as it would give away our position, but we were glad that the messenger had decided on being warm.

We left our horses back at our clearing as well as our armor. It would just make too much noise in a quiet forest like this. We kept our swords though. No need to go unarmed.

The two of us crept up towards their camp, careful not to step on any stray twigs. We had agreed to observe for fifteen minutes or so before heading back to formulate a plan.

Their camp was pretty much thrown together. There was only one tent up, which I assumed was the messenger's. He seemed like the leader anyway. Sven and I observed for a couple more minutes before creeping back to our camp.

"Only one guard?" Sven asked. "Seems overconfident to me."

"He doesn't think there are any pursuers," I reminded him. "But we should still be careful."

"I only counted seven men, not counting the guard."

"So did I. That means there are either two people in the tent or a hidden guard somewhere."

"So, what's the plan?"

"We need to take out the guard first," I said. "If we raise an alarm we'll be in big trouble."

"You mean kill him?"

"If we have to, yes." Sven didn't seem to like that idea very much. "I'll take care of the guard, ok?"

"Sure," Sven said tentatively.

"Ok. Well, the Schatz has to be in the tent with the messenger. He wouldn't let something like that out of his grasp. You'll sneak in and grab the bag with the Schatz. You remember what it looks like?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Ok, remember, if you have to fight, fight, but make sure you're able to get out of there."

"Got it," Sven replied with confidence. "Let's go get this done."

* * *

The plan would have worked perfectly had we not done it right after they had changed guards. It took one hit to the new guard to take him out, but he fell in a not-so-quiet thump.

Sven and I froze for a couple seconds before I motioned him to go on. He sneaked into the tent.

In fact, it was probably my athleticism that was our downfall. The guard wasn't the thinnest man in the world, so when the one guy awoke due to the thump and saw me standing in the guard's place, it took him a second to realize what had happened. That was the split second that allowed Sven to get into the tent.

I noticed a movement to my left and I turned quickly, which was something I probably shouldn't have done.

The man stood up quickly, noticing that I was not the guard. He let go a roar which was sure to wake the others.

"Intruders!" He yelled as he brandished his sword to come at me.

In the two second span I had to pull out my own sword I noticed that everyone else other than the guard who I had knocked out was now waking up.

I blocked the first stroke, an overhand. I noticed a quick movement to my right, the direction of the tent. It was Sven.

"Percy, I got it. Let's go!" Sven let go a piercing whistle. Blackjack and War Symbol would be here in fifteen seconds.

I blocked the attacker's second stroke and quickly sent a thrust which hit his belly. He fell to the ground.

I was about to turn and run when I felt a blinding pain on my lower leg. I fell to the ground, my momentum from trying to run away going against me. I looked down and noticed that a sword was through my calf. It was the guy that I had just taken down.

I stopped an overhand from a second guy from a kneeling position and was preparing for another when a blistering shadow took out my attacker as well as the two behind him. Blackjack had come to the rescue. Sven tried to help me up onto Blackjack, but the sword was still stuck in my leg.

I looked at Sven.

"Take it out!" I yelled. Luckily Sven understood. He pulled out the sword, not caring if it would hurt me more. We had to get away.

I yelled a cry of pain before letting Sven help me up onto Blackjack. My left leg was bleeding profusely. I could not feel anything below my knee.

Sven swiftly made his way onto War Symbol and we took off. Yelling could be heard from behind us. We would have pursuers soon.

Every bounce and jostle of the ride made me want to scream. I took a quick look behind me and saw a trail of blood in the moonlight. I yelled to Sven in front of me.

"Sven, find a river!" When he looked back at me puzzled I continued. "I'm leaving a trail!" Sven nodded and I was confident he understood what I was saying.

Within five minutes Sven had found a small stream and we bounded along with its current, the blood mixing in with the water, destroying our trail.

We spent about ten minutes running down the river before finally crossing over and stopping. Sven hopped off War Symbol and made his way back to me. The sun was beginning to rise in front of us.

I was leaning over Blackjack's mane, unable to make my way off his back. I knew I had to stay riding though. If I got off there was no way I would get back on.

"Percy, can you get off?"

"No. Just find a towel or something. We need to keep moving. I need a healer."

"At this pace we could be back at the castle in three hours. Do you think you can make it?"

"Yeah, but I need something wrapped around it. At least stop the blood flow for now."

Sven quickly went back to War Symbol before returning to my leg.

"Will this work?" He asked. It was a pretty thin piece of material, but it was long.

"Yeah," I said with a grimace. "Fold it a couple times though."

Sven did as I said before wrapping it around my leg. He tied in a knot and looked back up at me.

"Good?"

I didn't even have the energy to respond. I just nodded my head. My breaths were coming in ragged.

Three hours later we made it back to Berlin. About an hour in my bandage had become solid red, so the last two hours probably hadn't done anything, but at least the trail of blood was stopped.

A huge crowd gathered as we sprinted through the drawbridge. Sven stopped next to Adler and Carina and quickly hopped off his horse.

"Get that back to its place," he said to Adler, handing him the bag with the Schatz in it.

I was about to pass out. I thought I heard Carina ask what happened, but there was no way I was answering. I managed to get off my horse but I had to rely heavily on Sven and Carina. I had barely made it to the infirmary before I passed out.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Percy's injury might be more than it seems. You'll have to read on to find out more.**

**The next chapter provides a huge cliffy, so you guys should look forward to that.**

**Also, I have completed my second story, The Big Three, which was the main reason why this story has yet to be updated in such a long time. If you haven't read TB3 yet, head over and check it out.**

**There are several important dates coming up in the Percy Jackson world that you might like to be aware of (huge thanks goes out to annabeth the wise girl for the help):**

**1-Sea of Monsters (movie): released in theaters August 7th**

**2-House of Hades: published October 8th**

**3-Sea of Monsters (graphic novel): June 18th (already came out)**

**4-Titan's Curse (graphic novel): also October 8th**

**Now we have back to back announcements of big news.**

**First off, I have changed my profile picture. Head over to my profile, check it out for me and tell me what you think.**

**Secondly, I have a new story coming out this Monday. It's called The Ten. A summary can be found on my website. The link is also on my profile.**

**Question of the Chapter: Dionysus is known for calling Percy by the wrong name. He even called him Pedro in the Last Olympian. However, when was the first time Dionysus messed up Percy's name (what chapter and book) and by what name did he call him?**

**Correct answers will receive a shout out like always.**

**Now I should probably end this mildly long author's note.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	8. Chapter 8

**Another quick turnaround. I'm sure you guys will enjoy that.**

**Last Chapter I asked you guys about Mr. D and calling Percy by the wrong name. I am proud to announce that several people gave me the correct answer of Chapter Seven of the Lightning Thief: My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke. Mr. D called Percy 'Peter Johnson.'**

**Here are your winners: Percabeth4ever25, PJOSeaofMonstersFan, Silver Ride, ElmoDaHorse, heyitsmoi , GetLostInTheMusic, numbah435spiritsong, Stacia1997 and LeahTymara all gave the correct answers. Congrats everyone.**

**This is Chapter Eight. It's in Percy's POV. A warning before you read: HUGE cliffy at the end. You guys will hate me for that, I guarantee it.**

**Now enjoy Chapter Eight of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure you can't shorten Rick Riordan's name to PSON.**

* * *

Chapter Eight: Percy POV

I woke up three hours later. Carina was by my side as was Elisabeth and Queen Hera.

"You're awake," Carina said with a sigh of relief. I saw both Elisabeth and Queen Hera follow suit.

I looked down at my leg which was wrapped for about a three inch span completely around my calf.

"You saved the Schatz," Hera said. "Thank you."

"It was nothing," I told her.

"Your cut wasn't nothing, that's for sure," Elisabeth chimed in, obviously relieved. She had told me on several occasions that I was her favorite cousin.

"Yeah, so what did the healers say? When can I be up and running again?"

"At least another day," Carina told me. I groaned. Another day? Carina smiled. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. One more day couldn't hurt."

I groaned again. This day would be the end of me I was sure.

* * *

The next day I was released from the infirmary. My leg still throbbed a little bit, but as long as I wasn't standing on it for too long I would be fine. Two days later I was in a war meeting when we got the news.

"The UK has pulled out!" A messenger said, sprinting into the room.

"Whoa, slow down," I said. "Repeat, but slower."

"The United Kingdom has pulled out of their deal with Denmark." Short cheers arose from the room.

"Wait!" I said. "Anything else?"

"Nothing right now, my lord."

"Ok. If you hear of anything from Denmark or Russia, let me know immediately."

"I will, my lord."

"Thank you. You are dismissed." I turned back to the council. "Let's keep going. Denmark might still attack out of rage." The rest of the council agreed and we continued our talks for the next several hours.

Three days later we received a diplomatic letter from Denmark, saying they would be willing to commence talks about a compromise. We agreed and set up a date to meet. Sven and Swordsmaster Engel were sent as our diplomats. They returned the same day and were heartily welcomed home.

"What did they say?" I asked Sven that night before our celebratory party.

"They were willing to pull out of their war preparations, but only if we agreed to do as well."

"And you agreed?"

"Obviously. Added that we would crush them in the World Championships, but you know."

"Trash talking. Sven, I like it!" He gave me a smile.

"You better not make me look bad and lose in the first round."

"Don't worry Sven, I won't lose at all."

"You better not," he replied. "Come on, let's go celebrate."

* * *

"Hey Carina, what day is today?"

"It's the 29th, why?"

"My friend's wedding is today," I replied sadly. "I wish I could have been there."

"Wait, really?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Why aren't you there?"

"The Portuguese ambassador was set to come in today, and both Sven and I need to be there. He'll probably just trash talk us about Worlds coming up here in two weeks, but still."

"Percy, I could have covered for you."

"Nah, it's fine. Abby's there for me."

Carina gave me a look, but eventually she let it go.

"So, how are things looking for me?" I asked her. Carina had her Worlds binder with her with the competitors listed.

"Well, it looks like there are a lot of teenagers like you. Way more than normal, at least."

"How many are we talking about?"

It took a couple seconds for Carina to count.

"Five, including you," she told me. "And three more under age twenty-three."

"So you're saying it will be a breeze in the park for me?"

"No," she replied. "I'm saying you have a chance."

I almost scoffed at her before realizing she had a smile plastered on her face.

"You better have been joking," I said. I looked up as Sven entered Carina's room.

"Elisabeth told me you were here," he said. "The ambassador is going to be here in twenty minutes."

"Ok Sven, I'll be right down." He nodded and then walked out of the room. I turned to Carina. "You better have been joking," I said again before following Sven.

Fifteen minutes later Sven and I were down in the throne room waiting for the ambassador's arrival. Within the minute, the doors opened and two people entered the room, a guy who I recognized as the ambassador and a girl who looked to be around sixteen. Her skin was one of a darker tone, like you'd see from the northern reaches of Africa. She had curly golden-brown hair that came down to her shoulders that made her look quite attractive.

"Who's the girl?" Sven whispered to me.

"No idea," I said. "You've been here longer, you tell me."

Sven shrugged in return and then stepped forward to meet the ambassador.

"Mr. Ambassador, welcome to Berlin."

"Thank you very much, your highness. It saddens me that I have to speak to you because of your father's condition. Portugal sends its prayers."

"Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. We receive your prayers wholeheartedly." Sven turned towards me. "This is my cousin, Percy Jackson. He is helping me run the country in our uncles' absence."

"It is nice to meet you, Percy," the ambassador said, extending his arm.

"Likewise, Mr. Ambassador." I returned the handshake.

"Where are my manners?" The ambassador said, turning towards the girl behind him. "Sven, Percy, I'd like you to meet Princess Hazel Levesque. She is here to represent the royal family."

"My lady," Sven said as the two of us bowed. "You are welcomed here in Berlin. Please stay as long as you wish."

"Thank you, my lord," she said as she curtsied in return. "But I will not be staying long. We plan on returning here to Berlin for the World Championships."

"Well, then we hope you enjoy your stay any time you're here. If you're in need of any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask someone. They will not hesitate to help you on your way."

The princess curtsied once more. "Thank you again. Shall we get onto business?"

"Yes, let's," Sven said. "Percy, will you lead the way?"

"I would be honored," I said. "After all, we can't have a princess standing for too long, can we?"

I led the way to a back room, nodding as the guards let us through. We wanted this conversation to be private, after all.

Sven and I sat across from the ambassador and the princess as the four of us took our seats.

"You are here to talk about the trade alliance, correct?" Sven asked.

"That is correct," the ambassador replied.

"Then let's hear your proposal."

"Hazel, if you could."

"I'd be pleased to," the princess said, leaning forward in her chair. "My father wishes to keep the current alliance, however with some changes."

"Very well," Sven replied. "We are glad you wish to keep us as a trading partner. Could you please inform us of these changes?"

"Of course. As you know, we had that mining accident in our country during this past year."

"Yes, we were informed about it."

I remembered hearing about the accident back when I was in Wales. It was Portugal's major mine and there was a huge section that had collapsed, killing eight people. I remember hearing that production was halted for around a month before it began again.

"Unfortunately due to the accident we were not able to produce as much ore as we had in previous years and therefore we would not be able to trade as much to our fellow buyers. Portugal has always been on good terms with Germany, so we figured we could come and talk with you first."

"That has always been the case. So what is your proposal?"

"Portugal still wishes to have Germany as a trading partner, although we will not nearly be able to trade as much ore as we had in the past. The current number I believe right now is 5,000 tons per year, correct?"

"That sounds about right," Sven replied.

"At our current rate, we would only be able to trade 1,600 tons, a 3,400 ton difference between years. Our proposal to you is that you take that 3,400 ton cut, but in addition we will provide you with another amenity of your choosing, providing we have it."

Sven took a glance over at me.

"I believe we are able to take such a cut, however, I will have to talk to someone to confirm it." He looked back at the princess. "Also, there is no such need as another amenity. We are already getting everything we need from our other alliances. We will just pay you less money for the ore. Are you planning on staying the night, my lady?"

"Yes," she replied. "We will be staying tonight and then heading back to Portugal tomorrow. We have to prepare for the World Championships after all."

"Very well. I will find out those numbers and I'll let you know tomorrow."

"That sounds like a good idea. Thank you."

"No problem," Sven replied. "Please, enjoy your stay here in Berlin and thank you for coming to talk with us."

"You're welcome," the princess said, standing up. The other three of us followed her lead. "However, there was one more thing."

"And what was that?"

"I was told to let you know that if Germany happens to face Portugal sometime during the championship that you should be prepared to lose."

I smiled and stepped in.

"You let them know that I'll be ready. But it will be you who loses."

The princess's gaze snapped over to me, startled that I had spoken so fast.

"Percy will be competing for Germany," Sven filled in. "And he's known for his dueling record. Is that all then, my lady?"

"Yes, that will be all," she said, her eyes still trained on me. "I look forward to seeing you fight, Percy. You seem like someone who knows what they're doing."

"Thank you, my lady," I replied. "And I better know what I'm doing. You have to if you've gotten this far."

Hazel gave me a smile before walking out of the room. I shook hands with the ambassador one final time before he followed the princess out. Sven turned towards me.

"I'll show them to their rooms," he told me. "Can you find out the details on that ore?"

I nodded. "I'll get right on it."

"Thanks Percy." Sven followed the Portuguese out of the room. I nodded and then turned the other way.

* * *

The next day the princess and the ambassador left. We had agreed to their proposal, knowing that we had enough extra ore stored up that we could withstand this shortage for one year. They had promised that they could work out the full 5,000 tons the following year.

I was looking at a calendar in my room when I noticed that there was only eleven days until Worlds was supposed to start. My leg had healed pretty well, although I still couldn't stand on it for more than a couple hours straight. That was a major improvement though and the healers said I should be in tip-top condition for the competition, which I was thankful for.

I put the calendar back down just as someone sprinted into my room. It was Carina.

"Dad's getting better!" She told me with a huge smile. I got up quickly and gave her a hug.

"That's awesome. Thank the gods. What about Zeus?"

"No idea," Carina replied, her voice dropping slightly. "Elisabeth was the one who told me first, so I figured I'd grab you before I headed down to check."

"Well, come on," I told her. "No need to keep waiting here."

Carina and I made our way down to the infirmary, a little faster than normal. Ok, a lot faster than normal, but you get the point.

We met up with Sven in the hallway just outside the infirmary.

"Did you hear the news, Sven?" Carina asked happily.

"Yeah, I did. That's such good news. But what about my-"

He was cut off by perhaps the worst four words I've ever heard in my life.

"All Hail King Sven!"

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, do you hate me or do you hate me? You know what makes it worse? Next chapter in Percy's POV is Chapter 11. You have to suffer through two more Annabeth chapters before it's resolved.**

**Chapter Nine is the wedding between Rayne and Ashton. You guys should enjoy it.**

**In other words, my new story hit the website yesterday, so if you haven't checked it out yet, head over and read chapter one. It's a lot more popular than I thought it would be, but I'm not complaining. You can find it on my profile.**

**Also, it's been a long time since I've updated S&R, just over a month if I'm correct. Well, good news! Next chapter for Scars and Recognition might be up later today! If you don't see it today, look for it tomorrow. I'm still fixing up some things before it's ready to hit the website. That story is also starting to get into the meat of the plot.**

**Ok, onto the Question of the Chapter: In the Titan's Curse, the campers face off against the Hunters in a "friendly" game of Capture the Flag. When the Hunters win, Chiron states that the Hunters have had a long winning streak against the camp. Here's the question: How many consecutive games of Capture the Flag have the Hunters beaten the campers?**

**Hint: It's more than ten.**

**Like all previous chapters, correct answers get a dedication.**

**Make sure you review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	9. Chapter 9

**And we're back for another instillation of The Prince, The Girl and The World. This next chapter is in Annabeth's POV and it will encompass Rayne and Ashton's wedding.**

**Like I guessed, a lot of you hated the cliffhanger in the last chapter. Good news, that was planned. Anyway, no cliffy here today, so you can thank me for that.**

**Last chapter I asked you guys about the Hunter's winning streak against Camp Half-Blood in Capture the Flag. I'm proud to say we have some winners. Congratulations to percyjason, HYpatheticallySPEAKING, ElmoDaHorse, LeahTymara, numbah435spiritsong, PrincessAnnastacia and AddieisCool. They all gave me the correct answer of 56 consecutive times.**

**Now onto the chapter. Enjoy Chapter Nine of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan, I am not. PSON I am.**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Annabeth POV

Abby got me up extremely early. It wasn't even light outside yet, that's how early it was. The two of us picked up Rosalyn before sprinting over to Rayne's room. It was her wedding day after all.

The three of us knocked on Rayne's door loudly. Surprisingly, a response came almost immediately.

"It's open."

The three of us looked at each other before I reached for the door handle. Sure enough, it was unlocked.

I walked through first. Rayne was standing at her window, looking for the morning sunrise.

"Rayne!" I yelled. "Congrats, girl!" I wrapped her in a hug.

"Thanks Annabeth!" She replied, but her voice seemed tired somehow.

"Are you ok, Rayne? You seem off this morning."

"I'm tired," she replied with a tired smile. "I only got like two hours of sleep last night. I was too excited for today."

I smiled as Rayne gave Abby and Rosalyn each a hug.

"Don't worry Rayne," I told her. "You get in the shower and you'll be feeling refreshed in no time."

"Yeah, and it'll wake you up too," Rosalyn added.

"Ok, I'll step in. Can one of you fetch my mother? She'll want to be here for everything."

"No need," a voice said through the open doorway.

The four of us turned towards the voice as Lady Allyson stepped into the room and up to her daughter. They shared a hug.

"Congrats, sweetie. I can't believe this day has finally come."

"Neither can I mom, neither can I."

"No," I said, cutting in. "Don't start tearing up now. Or-or else I will and I'll be a wreck."

"Ok, fine, princess," Rayne said with a short laugh. She wiped away the tear that had started to form by her right eye. "Gods forbid _you're _a wreck."

That got a laugh out of everybody, if only a small one. I sent a small glare at my childhood friend.

"Just get your shower," I told her.

"Yes ma'am," Rayne replied with a salute. "Can't disobey a royal order now, can we?"

Another laugh went around the room. I was not included in this one.

"I hate you," I told her with a glare.

"And you're still my bridesmaid," she responded with her signature smile.

I made eye contact with Lady Allyson, who gave me her own smile.

"Do you ladies have your dresses here?" She asked me.

"No," I responded. "They're still in our rooms."

"Go get them now," she told us. "While everyone is still sleeping." I nodded and took a glance over at Rayne, who was smiling, before heading out of the room.

We were barely out of the room before we heard, "What do you think you're smiling at Rayne? Get your shower." A smile came to my face as us three bridesmaids walked down the hall.

* * *

I grabbed Grover's arm. The two of us were set to walk down the aisle next as Best Man and Maid of Honor. I was nervous, but Grover gave me a smile.

"Why are you nervous?" He asked me. "This isn't even your wedding."

"It's my best friend's," I told him. "It's no different in my mind."

He gave me another smile.

"That's a good answer. Are you ready to go?"

I looked down at my dress one last time before replying.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Don't worry about your appearance," Grover said. "You look beautiful. Percy is lucky to have a guy like you."

I blushed and muttered thanks. Truthfully I couldn't wait to see Percy again. It was something that had been constantly on my mind since he had left.

I composed myself one last time before nodding to Grover. I was ready to head out. It was my best friend's wedding. I wasn't going to be thinking about my problems until after the wedding. It was her time tonight.

Grover and I walked in-step down the long aisle. Almost everyone in the castle had turned out to watch this wedding. I smiled and waved to a few people I recognized in the crowd. Grover led me up the stairs and onto the stage. He kissed my hand and then the two of us separated, me to the left, Grover to the right, where I saw Ashton standing. I had sent him a smile as I walked in, which he gratefully returned.

Ashton was matching Rayne perfectly. While the groomsmen had on a black suit with a white undershirt and a green tie, Ashton had a plain white tie, signifying he was the groom. The three bridesmaids had on their solid green dresses and of course Rayne was wearing the white dress as the bride.

Speaking of Rayne, _Here Comes the Bride_ started to play on the piano and everyone stood as the bride and her father made their way down the long aisle.

Rayne looked absolutely amazing. Her long curly brown hair was straightened, so it came down past her shoulders. Her hard brown eyes were as soft as I've ever seen them and her smile was as large as the crowd that had come to see her.

Rayne's dress was simple, just like she wanted, but still amazingly elegant. It wasn't a strapless dress. She had two sections going over her shoulders which were decorated with designs of what looked to be flowers. The dress clung to her torso before finally starting to spread out as you passed her hips. The flower design seemed to be falling like snow would on a winter day. It seemed to collect up near her neck like clouds before starting to peter out and then finally collecting in a layer at the bottom of the dress.

Rayne had been debating on whether or not to wear a necklace she had just gotten, but it looked like she went against it, because her neck was clear.

Her father led her up the steps to the stage. Lord Ares was dressed just as the groomsmen were, except he had a red tie instead of a green one.

He lifted the veil from Rayne's face and gave her a kiss on the cheek before sitting down.

Ashton had stepped up and he now took Rayne's hand in hers.

Rayne hadn't glanced at me, but I was fine with that. I knew how much she appreciated my help. There was no need to tell me.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the priest said. "If you could please take your seats we can get this wedding under way." He motioned to Rayne and Ashton as chairs could be heard shuffling. "If you two could please take a step closer to me that would be helpful."

I saw Rayne and Ashton each awkwardly move towards the priest and I had to smile. I lifted my hand up to my right eye to wipe away a tear. We had barely started and I had already started to tear up. There was no way I was going to make it through the entire ceremony.

I felt someone bump my arm and I looked to my right. Abby was holding out a tissue to me and I gratefully took it.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"You're welcome," she replied in the same tone. "You're going to need it more than me."

I cracked a smile before returning my gaze to the priest. I caught Ashton's eye and he gave me a wink. I saw him converse quickly with Rayne and she looked back in my direction.

I gave her a huge smile which she returned. She let go of one of Ashton's hands and gave me a small wave, which I happily returned. Rayne returned her gaze to the priest, so I followed suit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today for a very special occasion," he announced. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of two lives…and two families." He acknowledged both Rayne and Ashton's parents. "We are here to join this beautiful girl, Princess Rayne Mars Warstriker, to this loving, caring, handsome, strong young man here, Mr. Ashton Evan Herringshaw. Sorry for the many adjectives, but Ashton insisted I place a couple more in there to make up for the lack of title."

I looked at Ashton who had his head down, shaking his head and surely smiling. A laugh escaped the crowd. Rayne didn't seem to be that happy, so I went ahead and assumed that it wasn't planned.

"Now that the first joke is out of the way, let's get started," the priest said. He went on to say something about how significant these vows they were about to take were and what the meaning of marriage was. I wasn't really paying attention to that part.

Rayne and Ashton then exchanged their vows, each promising to love and care for the other for as long as they lived. I tried not to tear up as they exchanged their rings, but it was very difficult. I would have to remember to thank Abby later for the tissue. It was doing its job well.

"And now I believe we should wrap up this ceremony." The tension in the audience was evident. All that was left was the famous words. "Rayne and Ashton, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

As Ashton and Rayne leaned in for their first kiss as a married couple, the crowd let out a collective "Aww," before standing and clapping as the two of them headed back down the aisle.

I rejoined with Grover and the two of us followed the newlyweds.

* * *

Three hours later we were at the reception. The food was absolutely amazing and the music was terrific. After the food was cleared and dessert was served, the speeches started. Rosalyn was first, then Oliver, Abby and Adam. I was set to go next.

I stood up and made my way to the end of the table where the wedding party was situated. I cleared my throat, notes in hand and got ready to speak.

"Hey guys," I started. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Annabeth." That got a short laugh from the crowd. "My dad's the King, and yes, I have a boyfriend." That last part was directed at one of the younger kids at one of the front tables. I saw him pout, but I gave him a smile.

"This is how my speech is going to go down. I'm going to say how I know Rayne, when I met Ashton, how perfect they are for each other, and then tell some embarrassing stories and wrap things up. Sound like a deal? Ok, let's get started." I shuffled my notes to the second page. "I first met Rayne when I was very young. My parents were over here talking about some stupid treaty, like always, so they decided to put me with young Rayne over here. We became friends almost immediately. It actually wasn't until a couple months ago that I found out that Rayne was three years older than me. We've always been best friends it seems, so when she asked me to be her Maid of Honor there was no way I could have refused." I paused. "I was there the night when Ashton proposed to her, as were probably many of you. I still remember the cuteness of the proposal and the collective 'aww' that came from the crowd."

I paused once more, shifting my notes to the next page.

"Onto Ashton," I said, giving Rayne's new husband a look. "I actually hadn't met Ashton until Rayne's twentieth birthday party a couple months ago. I remember my mom distinctly telling me that he possibly would propose on her birthday, so I was like, 'Man, I have got to meet this guy before he proposes to my best friend. I have to make sure he's not some diabolical killer who's out to get single girls with brown hair.'" I paused as a short laugh escaped the crowd. "Ok, not really. But I did want to meet him. And I'm glad I did. Ok, anyway, let's move on. I'm rambling too much." I checked my notes. "Oh, yes. How perfect they are for each other. Ok, let's combine the next two. How about an embarrassing story about how perfect they are for each other?"

I paused for a drink of water before continuing.

"Ok, so, Miss Rayne Warstriker, or should I say, Mrs. Rayne Herringshaw?" That got a cheer from the crowd. "Rayne is known for not really being a girly girl. That's more like her cousin Rosalyn." I gave the black-haired girl a look and she responded with a glare. "Anyway, so Rayne's not a girly girl and Ashton's not known for being a romantic guy, but I have a story that might make you think differently." Rayne looked like she was about to interrupt me, but I cut her off before she had the chance to. "I'm telling the story Rayne, whether you like it or not. You can embarrass me whenever I get married." I saw Rayne pout, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Ok, so one day I was here in the castle and I was trying to find Rayne, because we had to talk about wedding plans or something and I hadn't seen her all day, so I decided to head up to her room to see if she was there. So I'm walking around the corner to her bedroom and I'm saying something like, 'Hey Rayne, are you in here? We have to talk about-' and then I stopped. I had stopped suddenly and I was standing in her doorway to her room and what did I see? The two of them are sitting on her bed, inches apart, doing one of those eskimo kisses. You know the one where you brush your nose back and forth with the other person's? Yeah, really awkward." A short laugh came from the crowd. "You see though, that's not even the funny part. When Rayne finally noticed me, and it took her a good ten seconds or so, she jerked back in surprise and then she clashed heads with Ashton. I just about remember dying laughing when I saw that both of their noses were bleeding from the impact. I then got to laugh every time someone asked why either of their noses were bleeding and they couldn't lie about it because I was right there. Best day of my entire life right there."

I glanced over at the newlyweds as laughter came from the crowd. Ashton was too busy looking at the ground to notice me, but Rayne sent me a huge glare and of course I returned a smile.

"Ok, let's wrap this up," I said. "Rayne, Ashton, you know you're perfect for each other. Everyone else knows that now too." Another short chuckle. "I truly love both of you and I hope you guys have an amazing life together, but remember, I'm godmother to your first child or else." I walked over to the two of them as the crowd erupted in applause. I gave Rayne and Ashton each a hug before handing it off to Grover, the Best Man.

"Okay, okay, so it's going to be pretty hard to follow that speech, but I'll try my best." He paused for a second to get situated before continuing. "Now, as many of you know, Annabeth's boyfriend Percy was supposed to be the Best Man, but he was caught up in Germany so he couldn't make it. I'll be giving both my speech and something that he wanted said tonight. I'll start with my speech first since Percy's little blurb is much funnier." A short laugh came from the crowd. "Ok, let's get started. I first met Ashton through Percy around four years ago. He was seventeen and I was thirteen, but he still took me in under his wing. For that I was grateful to him." Grover nodded towards Ashton who returned the favor. "And then he left me three months later for some girl named Rayne." Laughter came in bundles from the crowd. "So, of course after being backstabbed by one of my best friends for some random girl who I didn't know, I figured I'd have to see whether it was actually worth his time to go after this girl rather than spend time with me. And let me tell you, it was not." I saw Ashton laughing hysterically, but Rayne didn't really seem to be enjoying herself. "Sorry Rayne," Grover apologized. "Let me continue. Truthfully, that's what I thought at first. But then I actually got to know her better and I realized just how wrong I was. Maybe it was me just being a stuck-up thirteen-year-old, but I truly came to think of Rayne as an older sister. And the more I thought about it these past couple weeks, I've realized how much Rayne and Ashton deserve to be with each other. They're a perfect match and I don't think I could see them with anyone else. So in conclusion, congrats you two. May your marriage live much longer than the friendship shared between me and Ashton."

Applause and laughter combined filled the room as Grover walked over and gave the bride a hug. Ashton clasped him in one of those bro-hugs and Grover returned back to center stage.

"May I remind you I still have Percy's little blurb to say, so without further ado, let's start." Grover ripped open an envelope and took out a piece of paper from inside. He unfolded it and began reading. "Mr. and Mrs. Ashton Herringshaw," he started. "Wow, Percy's gotten really formal since he's gone to Germany. Abby, you're not that formal, are you?"

Abby shook her head. "He's my brother," she said simply.

"Oh, right. This is Percy we're talking about here." A short chuckle escaped the crowd. Apparently a lot of them knew Percy. "Mr. and Mrs. Ashton Herringshaw," he repeated. "Congrats on the wedding. Hopefully it wasn't as boring as my sister thought. I'm sure Rayne looked absolutely amazing." I took a look to my right to Abby, whose mouth was open in shock as if she couldn't believe her brother had written something like that. I had to laugh at her expression.

Grover kept reading. "I would've said that Ashton probably looked like a complete doufus, but he's getting married to Rayne, so he probably looked alright." Ashton looked like he was going to complain, but Grover quickly read the next sentence. "Don't worry Rayne, I can say things like that. It's not like he can beat me up in a duel or anything." Even Grover couldn't handle himself. He started dying laughing on the corner of the table. I noticed Rayne letting out a giggle to my left. "But in all seriousness, you two are perfect for each other. Rayne's strong and determined and Ashton's weak and can't even hit the broad side of a barn. Together they can't fail." The rest of us lost it as well. I remember starting to tear up I was laughing so hard. After everyone finally got control of themselves, Grover managed to read the rest of the note. "I wish I could have been there for the wedding as well as the reception. One word of advice before I finish this letter: Don't get too drunk at the wedding reception. I expect both of you to be here at Worlds fit and healthy. I love you guys. Congrats again. Percy."

Applause came from every corner as Grover folded up the sheet and handed it to Rayne. Ashton stood up and made his way to the center of the stage, easily not impressed. This would be a fun speech.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, Annabeth and Grover have both given their speeches, with input from Percy. Tell me, what did you think? We finish up with Ashton's speech next chapter and then head on our merry way to Berlin for the World Championships. Hint, hint. Percabeth reunite next chapter!**

**First off, I will be posting a link of Rayne's dress onto my profile today, so check it out if you want to see how bad my description was.**

**In other news, chapter two of my new story, The Ten, was published earlier this morning, so check it out if you have the time.**

**I'm looking at updating each of my stories once a week, so check back next week for a new chapter. Follow my Twitter updates for the exact dates.**

**Also, the next chapter of Scars and Recognition will be up on Thursday, so if you've been following along be sure to check that out.**

**Now for the Question of the Chapter: In the Demigod Files, Percy, Thalia and Nico go on a quest to retrieve Hades' stolen sword. When they finally catch up with the thieves, Ethan Nakamura and the Titan Iapetus, Percy manages to drag the Titan into the river Lethe, wiping his memory. When the two of them come back out, the Titan asks, "Who am I?" and Percy responds with this common American name. The question: What does Percy tell Iapetus his name is?**

**As always, right answers get shout-outs.**

**Now, make sure you review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	10. Chapter 10

**I absolutely love you guys. If you haven't heard yet, over this past weekend I passed the 1000 review mark for all of my stories. I can't thank you guys enough. Anyone who reviewed any of my stories deserves a cookie or something, but since I'm bad at cooking, we'll just stick with this.**

**Onto the chapter. A lot of you guys reviewed last chapter, so thank you for that.**

**Last chapter I asked you about Percy, Iapetus and the River Lethe. When Percy dragged the Titan into the River Lethe and back out again, he called the Titan Bob. Congratulations goes out to: Cookie Frost Girl, sleong99, ElmoDaHorse, ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted, prince of the seas, Impulsive8D, ravenwolf24 and numbah435spiritsong. Congratulations goes out to all.**

**On with Chapter Ten. We pick up with Ashton's speech today and then we continue through with packing and then the arrival in Germany.**

**Enjoy Chapter Ten of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of ideas to say I'm not Rick Riordan. I should probably stop writing then.**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Annabeth POV

"Alright, alright, so the kid thinks he's funny," Ashton started. The laughter slowly died down and Ashton situated himself at the center of the stage. "Gods, that threw me completely off."

A short laugh escaped the crowd.

"Ok, let's get started." Ashton took a deep breath. "First off, I'd like to thank Rayne's parents for throwing this amazing wedding. Everything is absolutely perfect." A short cheer arose from the crowd. "Ok, so as the groom, I'm supposed to thank _everyone, _and by that I do mean _everyone._ I'd like to first thank my ushers, Elliot and Will. You guys made everything so much easier by helping people to their seats. Like I said, much appreciated." He paused as the ushers were recognized by the crowd. "Next, I'd like to thank the bridesmaids. Annabeth, Abby and Rosalyn, I can't thank you enough for what you did for Rayne. You helped us through the wedding plans so much and I couldn't imagine how difficult it would have been if you weren't there. Again, thanks." Ashton flipped a note card over. "Now, the groomsmen. Grover, Adam, Oliver, and I guess Percy, but now I'm reluctant to add him. You guys helped me stay calm-" Adam apparently muttered something and Ashton let out a short laugh. "Yes, for the most part. Anyway, I can't thank you enough for everything you guys have done for the wedding, well, except Percy." He paused as a laugh escaped the crowd. "I definitely couldn't have made it this far without you guys, so thank you." A cheer could be heard as Ashton took a sip of water. "Onto the parents. We'll start with Rayne's and then move onto mine. Mom, don't you dare start crying. Not yet at least."

All eyes turned towards Ashton's mother as she wiped tears away from her eyes.

"Ok, so Mr. and Mrs. Warstriker. Or Lord and Lady, or however you want to be called." I saw Lord Ares wave his hand like it didn't matter. "I already thanked you for the wedding, so there's not really any need to do it again. But you guys really have done a lot for me. You took me into your family. My lord, you taught me your trade, and that has now become my life. We've battled snow storms together, fought off invasions and for the most part been one happy family. I'm happy to say that I can now call that a reality. Thank you."

Ashton went back for another sip of water before turning towards his own parents.

"Mom and dad," he started. "You can start crying now. I'll be brief." That got a little chuckle out of the crowd and Ashton continued. "Mom and dad, I cannot thank you enough, and I mean this more to you than anyone else. You raised me as a child, put up with everything I did and even forgave me for when I accidentally sliced through your most precious pot with my sword when I was fifteen." I saw a hint of a smile came onto both of Ashton's parents as they were remembering the memory. "I love you guys more than anything. You supported me when I went out and told you I wanted to date the princess, and you took her under your wing whenever I finally did so. Thank you so much for that, as I would never have gotten the chance to stand up here had you not given me that support. Thanks again."

Ashton walked down the stage to give his parents a hug, his mother crying the entire time.

He walked back onto the stage.

"One last person guys and then I'm done. My beautiful wife, Rayne." Ashton turned towards her as he said her name. Cheering arose from the crowd. "Rayne, I first met you when I was seventeen, competing in what I think was my third tournament ever. I had been training with your dad for a couple of years now, but I had never met you, probably because I kept running back home every day. But I remember this time I had sneaked into the semifinals for the first time ever. I remember I was set to face Percy, and I was completely focused for the match, since Percy was pretty good, even back then. I knew I had to do my very best and then I would have a shot at winning. That all changed though when I actually got into the arena and saw you sitting up next to your parents. I honestly lost all focus because I'd never thought in my right mind that I'd ever see anyone that beautiful. I tried to refocus on the duel, seeing as you were there and I was trying to impress you by winning, but honestly it was very difficult. I remember losing less than a minute after the match started and I was devastated because I thought I had lost my chance with you. I had lost my only chance to impress you and I didn't think I'd ever get another one. I remember having to stay the night because it was so late and I remember sulking at dinner. Percy had been sitting next to me, but he had left to get seconds or something so the seat was empty. And then you sat down in it." He paused for a second. "Honestly I thought you were Percy at first, because I never really looked at you. And then you spoke and just about scared me out of my wits. I stammered back a greeting and I remember you laughing it off like it was nothing. Percy never came back that night, which I was grateful for and the two of us talked for what seemed like hours. We hung out the next day, and then the next and the next. Then we started dating and everything went from there." He paused again. "I remember being downright scared to meet your mom and yeah, you heard that correctly." A laugh escaped the crowd as several eyes turned towards Lady Allyson. "I wasn't scared of your dad at all because I had been training with him every day, but your mom frightened me because I had never talked to her. She always seemed to be quiet, but then she'd give that smile and everything would be so much creepier." I looked down at Lady Allyson, who was smiling up at her new son-in-law. "Yes, just like that." Ashton pointed down at Rayne's mother and everyone let go a laugh. "Then we actually met and I found out that she was such a nice lady and I mean that sincerely. She immediately took me in despite my family's status and she treated me for who _I _was, not what my background was. She'd always tell me, 'You _can't_ change what family you're born into, but you _can_ change the family you want to have.' And that always stuck with me and I knew it would, even if I stopped dating you. Thankfully that didn't happen and I went on to propose and now we're married. But I truly have to thank you for coming up and sitting with me on that one night. It changed my life forever and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, Rayne."

Everyone clapped as Ashton went over and wrapped his new bride in a hug. They shared a kiss.

"Now let the party begin!" Everyone cheered as the music filled the room.

* * *

"Are you all packed sweetie?" My mother asked as she poked her head through the doorway.

"Yeah, almost," I replied as I packed another dress into my suitcase. We were one day away from leaving to head off towards Germany. Lord Henderson had arrived from Scotland along with his attendants and Rayne and Ashton had made their way to London from Wales. Lord Henderson had taken Percy's place as Lord Ramsey withdrew his right. He wanted someone else to represent the UK for a change.

"Ok, when you're done, can you check on Isabel and Abby? I need to get my own stuff packed before dinner tonight."

"Yeah, mom, I'll be sure to check on them."

"Ok, thanks so much Annabeth."

I nodded as my mother walked out of the room. After I was done packing, I met up with Isabel and Abby to make sure they were packed. They were and the three of us headed down to dinner.

When we got down to the dining hall, I saw my dad talking with Lord Henderson, but it looked like their conversation had just ended because Lord Henderson walked off.

Before I had the chance to call out to my dad, a messenger ran up to him and they held a quick, but heated conversation. My dad's eyes widened in surprise and they conversed for a few more seconds before the messenger ran off.

The three of us walked up to him a few seconds after the messenger had left.

"Hey, dad, what's up?"

He jumped in surprise, but he didn't focus on me. He focused on Abby, who was standing to my left. His eyebrows were scrunched in thought.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked, more worriedly. It took him a couple of seconds before he answered.

"I've just learned that the King of Germany is dead."

* * *

All three of us were in shock. Abby reacted the quickest, demanding to know more, but my dad didn't know any details other than that one confirmed fact.

I dragged Abby away, calming her down and convincing her that in a few days we'd know more. Abby calmed, but she had a look of determination to her, as if she couldn't be kept waiting.

Dinner was a distracted affair that night as was breakfast the next morning. The UK contingent sent off at noon and we started our four-day trek to Berlin. I rode next to Rayne for the first hour and told her the news. Rayne took it calmly, as I expected her to. She had never met the King of Germany. We were both concerned about Abby, who looked quite distraught, but she seemed to be holding herself together. Rayne and I promised each other we'd keep an eye on her until we learned more information and we split apart.

I joined up with Abby as we crossed the English Channel, heading towards the coast of Germany.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked her.

She looked at me and then back over the water before answering.

"Yeah," she replied. "Just thinking."

"What about?" I asked, even though it was pretty obvious.

"The news."

"Don't worry, Abbs. We're on our way. One day down already and only a couple more to go."

"I know," she said sullenly.

"Come on, let's talk about something else. You need to be distracted."

Abby let out a short laugh. "Fine, how about Percy? Are you excited to see him again?"

Now it was my turn to become silent and stare out over the waves. _Was _I excited to see him again? I didn't really know.

"I'm not sure," I told his sister, my eyes still focused on the horizon. "I definitely want to see him again, but I think it's more nerves than anything."

"Well, I know you still like him," she replied.

My eyes narrowed as I turned towards the brown-haired girl.

"How do you know that?"

"At the wedding reception you said you had a boyfriend to that little kid, remember? You wouldn't have said that if you hadn't given it any thought."

"I guess you're right." I sighed.

"You're not nervous Annabeth," Abby said. "You're worried. You're worried that he's found someone else. You're worried about the King's death and how it affects Percy. You're worried what he's going to do when you two meet back up again. And truthfully, I don't know what he's going to do. But I do know that Percy's very loyal to his friends, and he's very loyal to you, so you shouldn't worry about him."

"But that still leaves one problem, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. What's going on with the King?"

"I don't know, Abby. We didn't really accomplish much here. All you did was getting me to worry with you."

Abby smiled. "Well, that makes two of us. Come on, let's employ your strategy and try not to worry. I get the feeling there's going to be enough worrying when it comes to the actual competition."

I let out a short laugh. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

And with that the two of us walked back into the central cabin just as the rain started to trickle down.

* * *

Three days later the UK contingent walked under the drawbridge into Berlin. We had arrived two days before the official beginning to the championship, although the fighting did not start until the fifth day.

As we made our way closer to the white marble castle, people started to line the streets of Berlin. Ashton was carrying the flag of the United Kingdom, signifying the country that was arriving.

A path was made directly towards the castle and our envoy walked right through the center of the path.

When we arrived at the castle doors, we were met with three men. I recognized Percy on the left, but he looked grim. He caught my eye for a second, but just as quickly he looked away. The guy in the center looked younger than Percy, but he had a crown on his head. This surely was the new king, although I did not know his name. The man on the right was much older than Percy and the new king and I recognized him as Hades. He had black hair and intense black eyes. His skin was paler than normal, although I expected that since he had been sick. He also had a black cape on as did Percy and the king. In fact, I noticed a lot of people had black capes on. Then I remembered it would still be a time of mourning for them. They had just lost their king after all.

The new king stepped forward to greet us.

"Welcome to Berlin," he said with barely any emotion, but that was alright considering what he had just gone through. "I am King Sven Olympii. This is my cousin Percy and my Uncle Hades. We welcome you to our castle and our competition. We hope you enjoy your stay here."

My father stepped forward in response.

"Thank you, my lord. We accept your hospitality wholeheartedly. Our prayers are with you in light of the recent events."

"Thank you," the German king replied. "But we wish to keep the focus on the competition. Our country is struggling, but we will pull though. We'd appreciate it if you could move on, just as we are trying to do."

My father bowed. "As you wish, your highness."

"Thank you. If you could please dismount, we will have someone direct you to your rooms."

Everyone dismounted, but I kept an eye on Percy, who was now talking with the king. Abby joined the two of them and a greeting went back and forth. They made small talk until our guides were here, but then I noticed they blended into the background and turned down the hall out of view.

I thought for a long time as we were led up to our rooms. Percy seemed different, very different. He wasn't known for being down emotionally and that's when I knew that this had hit the country hard. Now that I thought about it, ever since we had landed in Germany the air seemed heavier, as if something was weighing on the country's shoulders. Their king's death had come as a shock to the _entire_ country, not just Berlin.

I sighed as I began to unpack in my room. Isabel would be staying with me, but if she noticed my sullen mood she didn't say anything about it. I did know one thing though. This country needed an uplifting, and it needed one soon.

* * *

**A/N:  
**

**So, what did you think? Sorry, I misguided you last chapter, but this wasn't really the Percabeth reunion you were hoping for. Now I've really done it. I just looked at my outlook for the rest of the story and it looks like it won't be until chapter 12, maybe 13 depending on how I write it. Again sorry in advance, so just try not to be mad at me.**

**Next chapter we head back to Percy and go back in time a little bit to the funeral and Sven's ascension to the throne. I hope you guys enjoy it. That chapter should be out on Monday. I'm starting to pick up the pace with the uploads here, as I literally have a month until college tomorrow.**

**In other news, I uploaded Chapter 3 of The Ten yesterday, so check it out if you haven't already. It's extremely popular, much more than I imagined. We're already close to 100 reviews by the time I upload this. Also, the next chapter of Scars and Recognition will be out on Thursday with Chapter 4 of The Ten out on Friday. Look for those in the coming days.**

**Onto the Question of the Chapter: If you could be the leader of any nation in the world, what country would you choose and why?**

**Ok, so my first thought would be the US, but they always get huge amounts of scrutiny, since Americans are never satisfied. I'm going to go with one of the Scandinavian countries, probably Sweden. They're a Socialist country, so the government pays for more things dealing with the economy than here in the US. I've never heard of any unsatisfaction in Sweden, but I don't really listen to the news that often, so I can't be sure. Also, Swedish girls are pretty hot, so I can't argue with that. That doesn't really have anything to do with it anyways.**

**Make sure you review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. It's always appreciated. We're now approaching quickly to 200 reviews, so hopefully we break that barrier before the next chapter.**

**I'm not going to say much here, since I didn't pose a trivia question to you guys last chapter.**

**We're already up to chapter 11. Wow, over halfway done. We join back with Percy for the funeral.**

**Enjoy Chapter Eleven of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Riordan has finished his manuscript for Percy Jackson's Greek Gods!**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: Percy POV

The funeral was a sullen affair, as expected. It was held three days after the King's death, which was just enough time for all of the nobles to arrive in Berlin to show their condolences. It was a public funeral and thousands of people showed and I mean _thousands_. They knew to make a loose ring around the perimeter of the burial ground and they kept their distance, although they were all crying. Almost everyone was.

I was dressed in all black, along with my black cape. Sven and all of the other royals were dressed as I was. The only thing that stood out on me was my scabbard for my sword, but I wanted to keep it on. I saw that all of the other swordsmen did the same.

Zeus' casket was brought in by carriage, fittingly pulled by two black horses. Four people stepped up and took a corner of the casket. Sven and I took the two front corners and Hades and Lord Aldrich took the two back ones.

Hades had gotten better in the past couple days and despite the healer's objections, insisted he was one of those to carry the casket. He had already lost one of his brothers, my father, and he needed to be there for the other's funeral. It wouldn't be right if it was any other way.

I kept my face masked of any emotion. I had glanced at Sven as we'd walked down and knew he was trying to keep his face the same way. He had taken his crown off, something he had reluctantly worn for the past three days, so he was now like any other prince. His coronation was going to follow the funeral in two days, before any of the participants for Worlds showed up.

I noticed Carina standing next to Queen Hera, who said she was going to continue the role of Queen when Sven was King, although she was going to give up the title.

The two of them were staying strong, although I knew that both of them had been crying. Both of their eyes were bloodshot and they kept dabbing at the corner of their eyes with a handkerchief.

Carina caught my eye and I held her gaze for a second before looking away. Her sister Elisabeth was standing next to their mother along with all of the other cousins. I turned away from them, keeping my gaze directed frontwards as we walked through the crowd.

Everything was quiet except for the crying. Everyone's eyes were on the four of us and the casket as we finally made it to the grave and sat the casket on the pedestal.

The priest went through the usual routine, praising Zeus for his reign as King and calling out his deeds. He then wrapped up the formalities and opened it up for anyone who wanted to say anything.

Hades stepped up with Hera and she said a few words through tears. Hades was also brief. Carina tried to say something, but her voice broke and she broke down in tears.

I looked over at Sven and he nodded, giving me permission to talk. I knew he wanted to be the last person to talk, but he probably was struggling with his words. I stepped up in front of the crowd.

"I may not have known you long," I started, and the crowd grew completely silent, "but you took me under your wing, even after we had run away and lost contact. I couldn't have asked for anything different. You were taken away from us too soon. May you forever rest in peace. Thank you."

As I stepped back, there was no clapping. This wasn't a happy occasion, but I knew the people in the crowd had appreciated my words. Everyone's eyes turned to Sven. He was the last one to speak.

Sven stepped forward wearily and I knew he still was clueless about what to say. He caught my eye and I nodded at him. I had told him earlier that he should just speak from the heart. That was the best thing he could do.

Sven took a deep breath and looked down. I could tell he was having trouble keeping it together.

"Dad," he started, his voice wavering. "I knew this day would eventually come, but I had never thought it would be this early. You are and forever will be my only father, and I couldn't have asked for anyone different." He paused, taking another deep breath. "You raised me as a royal, but still taught me the need for respect, regardless of who I was talking to." He paused again. "I learned the ways of the King from you. How to govern the country, how to offer ambassadors your hospitality, and most importantly how to take in cousins I had never seen before." He looked up at me as he said that. I nodded at him, taking the compliment and urging him to go on at the same time. "It's hard to believe you're gone, but I know that you will forever be looking over me and guiding me in whatever I do. You will be thoroughly missed dad. Sleep peacefully and always remember that I love you."

As Sven finished, everything was quiet for a second. Then from the very back, one of the locals yelled, "All hail King Zeus!" and all of the men repeated the cry.

"All hail King Zeus," I said with the others. Hades, Lord Aldrich and I joined Sven and the four of us lowered the casket into the grave.

Everyone started to walk off and I looked over at Sven. I noticed that he was now crying in the fact that everyone had started to leave. I let him go as a few people walked up to the casket and threw flowers on it. Hera walked up to me and handed me a flower before walking over to Sven.

Carina walked up next to me and the two of us locked eyes. The two of us didn't say anything, but I noticed that she was crying. I turned towards the grave before saying a silent prayer. I threw the flower on the casket at the same time Carina did. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and the two of us walked back to the castle.

* * *

Sven and I barely talked the next two days, and I was stuck training with Lord Aldrich one-on-one. Lord Aldrich had agreed with me on one thing, saying that I was the lifesaver of the country. If I could put in a good showing, the country's hopes would be lifted.

I trained even harder after confirming that. I couldn't stand having my home country depressed like that, even if I had only lived there for a little while.

Two days after the funeral was Sven's coronation. Sven was dressed up all fancy, although he chose to stick with a black cape instead of a usual gold one. Normally coronations like this happened a couple months after the previous ruler's death, but this one had to be quick considering the World Championships were being held here.

I immediately followed Sven's lead with the black cape, although it did not match with the ceremony at all. I was set to lead him through the streets towards the central plaza where the coronation would take place.

I turned towards my cousin. "You ready to head out, Sven?"

Sven was quiet for a couple of seconds but then he turned towards me and nodded.

"Yeah, let's go."

The ceremony was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but it was hard considering that the funeral was two days ago.

Last night Sven had come up to me and asked if we could walk side-by-side through the streets. I asked if he was sure, since normally the new King was led through the streets by someone else.

Sven had told me he was sure and added that he was too young to be abiding by tradition.

I led Sven out of the castle and he quickly fell in-step with me.

People tried to cheer and liven up the mood, but it was difficult. Everyone could still sense the feeling of despair underneath the forced joy. This coronation wasn't tricking anyone.

The German national anthem played in the background as Sven and I made our way to the central courtyard. Hades, Hera, Carina and her mother were standing in the small pavilion. The rest of our cousins were standing at the foot of the steps and they were going to follow us in.

I stepped aside as we reached the stairs and quickly followed Sven as he started the trek up the seven stairs, signifying the seven great Kings of Germany. I knew that the first thing Sven planned on doing was adding an eighth stair for his father.

The national anthem ended just as Sven hit the top stair and I filed in behind him along with the rest of our cousins.

The coronation was quick. Hades helped by proclaiming Sven the new King and placing the crown on his head. The crowd erupted in cheers, but like before you could still feel the tension and depression underneath it all.

Sven turned towards the crowd, ready for his first speech as King. Carina and I had helped him get ready for this speech the past couple days.

"Great people of Berlin," he started. "I am honored here today to accept your gracious position as King of this beautiful country. These past couple days have been hard on all of us, especially the royal family and we thank you for all of your kind and generous support. But I am not here to talk about the past, but rather to move onto the future. My first action as King will be to add a step to the plaza to recognize my father's deeds. I hope all of you will support me when I say this." Sven paused. "But now it is time to move on. I know how difficult this seems, but you must trust me and try to move on. The World Championships start in six days. I fully expect you all to come out and support Percy during his matches as well as sing along with the national anthem every time it plays. This is our tournament and Percy has promised me that as long as you guys are there to cheer him on, he will not lose. Don't just do it for me, do it for everyone around you, for the ones we have lost as well as the ones yet to come. I expect you all to show respect to every single one of the competitors as well as all of the royals planning on coming to the tournament. Remember, we are Germany, and we don't let anything shatter our will. We will survive this and we will come out stronger than before. Thank you and may the gods bless you all."

Cheering arose from the crowd as Sven turned away from them and towards us. I sneakily gave him a fist bump and started to lead him down the stairs. Sven had no objections now.

The national anthem picked back up and chants of "All hail King Sven!" were heard from the crowd. They were ready for a world championship.

* * *

That night, Sven officially recognized me as the participant for the World Championships and I was welcomed by lots of cheering. The people in the castle were ready for some fighting.

Sven opened dinner for the first time and we ate heartily. Countries were supposed to start arriving within the next couple days and I was anxious to see Annabeth again as well as Abby. With timing so short we were unable to fetch her or my mom for the funeral, but I hoped they understood. I had already sent my mom a letter detailing the situation.

Before the second course, Sven stood and made a surprise announcement.

"Can I get your attention please," he started. "First off, I would like to thank the castle staff for this amazing meal." Cheers arose in recognition. "Secondly, I would like to announce a duel for tomorrow at noon." I perked up at that. A duel? Who was going to be fighting? "I hope all of you will spread the word and fill the stands as I challenge my cousin for the first time as King." Sven looked down at me and a smirk formed on my face. Oh, he was challenging me, was he? "That is all. Please bring in the second course."

That last part was directed at the kitchen staff, but I ignored it as Sven sat down to my left.

"Oh, you're on cuz. You're on," I told him.

Sven didn't reply, but I knew he had heard me.

I knew the importance of this duel. As his first duel as King, the outcome could predict the future and determine how Sven's reign would pan out. Normally, the King would fight someone who was lower than him, someone he could beat easily or someone who he trusted and knew would let him win. However, I knew that Sven wouldn't want that, just as his father had dueled my father and lost. Zeus had broken tradition, but for the most part it turned out well enough for him. I knew that Sven would follow in his footsteps and do the same thing. Well, unless he beat me, and I wasn't going to allow that to happen.

I also knew he was doing this for my sake. As I had lived in Wales for most of my life, I had never gotten the chance to fight in the arena other than in training sessions. This would allow me to acclimate myself to having a full crowd that was into the duel. I would have to thank Sven later, but now I had to keep up my image.

That night I slept peacefully for once. I had pulled Sven aside and talked with him after dinner and he was surprised that I had picked up on everything he meant. I had promised him a good duel the next day and the two of us separated as Sven needed to talk with Carina about the different arrivals for Worlds.

The next morning I woke up and walked over to Carina's room to see if she wanted to head down to breakfast. Carina had to decline, as she was extremely busy these days because she needed to know who was arriving on which day, where they were staying in the castle, and who was going to show them to their rooms. It was basically an all-day job, and the participants were going to start to arrive tomorrow.

While Carina had to decline, her sister Elisabeth hopped up from the bed and in line with me. She said she'd come down with me.

"You know, so you don't feel so much like a loser," she had said.

I rolled my eyes at my younger cousin. Part of me wished that she hadn't opened up so much, but I knew that was selfish thinking. It was a good thing for her to be more open the older she got.

"So," I said as we started to walk down the hallway, "how's the planning going?"

"Not bad," she replied. "Carina's freaking out about every little detail, but we had finished the planning last week, so she's just under a lot of stress."

"I bet."

"So, how about you?" She asked. "You seem pretty relaxed given the circumstances."

I shrugged. "It's just like any other tournament I've been in. Just better people."

"I wasn't talking about the tournament, Percy."

"What, you mean today?" Elisabeth nodded and I let out a short scoff. "Sven's got no chance."

Elisabeth opened her mouth to respond, but I cut her off.

"But I am glad he's doing it."

My cousin gave me an inquisitive look. "Why?"

"I've never fought in the arena when it was filled," I told her. "He's giving me a chance to acclimate myself to the arena before I actually fight."

"Oh, ok," she said. "Well, now's a good time to get used to it, huh?"

I let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I guess so."

We had arrived in the dining hall, which was about half-filled. Buffets were along both sides and various people could be seen going along and looking to see what was available.

I led Elisabeth over to the right and grabbed a plate from the one end. I hadn't seen Sven in the dining hall, but I figured he was probably getting briefed on something to do with Worlds. Or plotting with someone on a way to beat me. Either way, I wasn't very worried.

I loaded my plate with scrambled eggs, bacon and some sausage, along with a bagel before sitting down at an empty table. One of the servants brought me a cup of orange juice and I thanked him.

Elisabeth quickly followed me in sitting down at the table and the two of us dug in to our breakfasts.

Around five minutes in, a messenger came up to me and told me to arrive at the arena in an hour. He told me Sven might be a little later, but we were going to walk in together. I nodded and thanked him for the information and the messenger walked off.

"So, tell me," I said, starting a conversation, "what's going on with you these days, Elisabeth?"

"What do you mean?" She asked between bites.

"Well, I haven't really gotten to talk with you a whole lot. Are you still eyeing that one kid? Devin was it?"

Elisabeth blushed and looked down.

"It was Darren, and no. I finally got to talk with him and he was really unflattering. He didn't even know who I was."

"Hey, it's okay," I told her. "There are other fish in the sea, right?"

She gave me a look, clearly telling me to stop with the jokes.

"Yeah, sure," she said unconvincingly, ready to change the subject. "So, is your girlfriend coming to the championships?"

I stopped what I was doing at the moment and thought for a couple seconds.

"I really hope so," I said eventually. "I mean, I wouldn't see why not. She's the royal princess, so she _should _come to the tournament, but there are always exceptions." I paused. "Abby told me she was worried, so I hope that means she wants to see me again. I don't know. We'll see in a couple days."

Elisabeth was silent for a couple seconds before she finally answered me.

"You know, Percy, I think you're a lot like Carina." I looked up at her and she held my gaze. "You're both worrying too much. Things are going to work out just fine. Don't put too much thought into this."

I sent her a grateful smile as I finished my bagel.

"Thanks Elisabeth, but just to tell you, you're going to have to worry about these things when you're older too, so make sure you follow your own advice."

"Don't worry, I have," she replied. "I wait for you to make a mistake and I learn from it. That way I stay perfect."

I gave her a look before rolling my eyes and standing up.

"Whatever you say," I told her. "Hey, I need to get going. I'll see you in the arena?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. Good luck."

I snorted. "You should tell that to Sven, not me, but thanks anyway."

As I walked up to my room, I could tell some people were already making their way over to the arena to get the best possible seats. I smiled to myself before trudging up the stairs.

A half-hour later I was in the arena getting my armor on. Sven had actually shown up _before _me, which was a surprise, but I let it go. He was probably thinking about this duel more than I was, so he was probably too distracted from doing anything else.

Once I had all my armor on, I walked up beside him, my helmet in hand.

"Excuse me, your highness," I said in a stuck-up gentlemanly tone, "but I hope you came here prepared for a beating."

He gave me a look, but otherwise let it go. I smiled to myself, hoping I got under his skin at least a little bit.

A palace official ran up and stopped a few feet in front of us, looking the two of us over before bowing.

"My lords," he started, acknowledging both of us. "Are you ready to go?"

Sven looked over at me and I nodded. I deferred to him and let him do the talking. I was going to do enough of it once this was over.

"Yes," he replied. "We are ready to go." Sven sent one last look at me before turning back to the official. A smirk came to my face, but otherwise I kept quiet.

The official bowed once more. "Then good luck to the both of you and let's get this duel under way."

He turned and the two of us followed him into the arena.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Sven has now challenged Percy to a duel, which we'll start with next chapter. It should be quite interesting.**

**In other news, chapter 12 will be uploaded on Thursday, so make sure you look for that. Speaking of chapters, I can now confirm that TPTGATW will consist of 21 chapters. Hooray for that.**

**Also, I forgot to mention this last chapter, but some of you guys may have picked up on it. I have added a schedule for Worlds to my profile page. I think it's under The Prince, The Girl and The World Notes, or something like that. Please check it out if you have the time.**

**As for my other stories, a new chapter for Scars and Recognition will be out tomorrow with a new chapter of The Ten out Wednesday. Check those out as well.**

**Onto the Question of the Chapter: In the beginning of the Mark of Athena, the Greek demigods hover their ship over New Rome before climbing down via ladder. After the Senate meeting, Reyna suggests Leo heads back to the ship to give someone a tour. During this time, he fires on New Rome. Here's the Question: Who was with Leo when he fired on New Rome (who did Reyna send with him for the tour)? Correct answers get shout-outs in the next chapter.**

**Now, make sure you review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. If you couldn't tell already, we passed the 200 review mark, so thank you.**

**Last chapter I asked you guys who was with Leo when he fired on New Rome and many of you gave me the correct answer of Octavian! Congratulations goes out to: Guardian of Artemis, elliefs, glitter puppy, Agent wisegirl, numbah435spiritsong, ShadowOfASapphire, ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted, BrianaValdez167, kazoquel4, just-A-Girl-1517, burning book, Ble fotia, PrincessAnnastacia, prince of the seas, ElmoDaHorse, God Of The Underworld, SonOfNeptuneJr, Violet21, Chicadiva75 and one guest. Again, congrats to all.**

**We move on with Chapter 12 now. Percy and Sven are about to start their duel.**

**Enjoy Chapter Twelve of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Rick's initials are RR, not PSON.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Percy POV

Before we even stepped out into the arena you could hear the buzz going on around the stands. It was kind of nerve-wracking to tell the truth. But that was nothing compared to the eruption that came when we walked out from the changing rooms. I think I jumped from the sudden noise, but I wasn't sure. It was very unsettling either way.

Sven gave me a look and a smile when he saw me. I quickly masked my face. I wasn't going to allow my cousin any joy from this.

The official led us to the center of the arena and Sven and I stopped on either side of him. The cheering boiled down to a low murmur as we stood in the center of the arena.

"I'm proud to announce the participants for this duel," he said. "On my left is the challenger, our lord, Percy Jackson, and on my right is our highness, the King of Germany, Sven Olympii. This is Sven's first duel as King. Good luck to the both of you and we expect a fair duel. Your highness, you have the honor." He bowed to Sven and then me before heading off to the side of the arena. All eyes turned on us.

I flicked the hair out of my eyes before putting on my helmet. I drew my sword and waited for Sven to do the same. Once he was ready the two of us took up a position about three paces from each other. There was no one saying "Begin," or anything of the sort. We just started. Now, since Sven had the honor, I knew he had the first move, but I figured I'd play with him for a little bit.

I made a quick step towards him, leaving my sword at my side, before stepping back in line. A buzz went up from the crowd as Sven jumped. A smile came to my face. I saw Sven's eyes narrow, but he didn't attack yet. A good fifteen seconds passed and you could tell the crowd was getting agitated. I noticed Sven's sword was at the ready, but I didn't worry about that. I left my sword down by my side. I needed to do more than just win this duel. I had to put on a good show to build the confidence of the people. They needed to know I could handle myself and I had just the thing for my first move.

Sven finally attacked and, just as I thought he would, sent an overhand flying at my left shoulder. I waited until the last possible second, keeping my sword down by my side. Then, quick as lightning, I flicked my sword up into position to block his stroke and quickly followed by whirling around and landing a hit on his left side, just under his shield. Sven had no time to react.

A 'clang' could be heard as I made contact and I took a step back as the crowd suddenly grew quiet at the quickness of the events. Then someone yelled something, I think, 'Go Percy,' and then the rest of the crowd reacted, shouting support for one of us.

I smirked underneath my helmet. "Come on Sven, let's give them a show."

Sven answered me, but not with his mouth. His sword came up in another arcing overhand, but I deflected this one off my shield, returning an overhand of my own. Sven blocked this and we circled around.

I didn't wait for him to attack as the crowd cheered again. I threw in my own thrust, which he smartly deflected, and came in for a shield crash.

I rolled underneath it and quickly came up swinging, sure that Sven had already turned. Sure enough, our blades met in midair and then I ducked in anticipation of his next move. I came up with a slash from underneath and he met my blade in midair. Just now I realized how much better Sven had gotten, but I decided to show him that he still wasn't as good as me.

I deflected his next overhand off my shield and threw in a quick forehand, backhand combination. Both hit his armor and the crowd reacted in approval.

Each of us took a step back, catching our breath for a second. I got the feeling that duels in Worlds would last just as long as this one, if not longer. There would be some good swordfighters competing.

I decided I better finish this and I went in for the kill. Not literally, but you get what I mean.

I started with a shield crash to distract him before arcing my sword down to his feet to trip him up. I took his legs out from underneath him and Sven fell to the ground. Still disoriented, I smashed the hilt of my sword into his helmet, dazing him more before knocking the sword out of his hand. The crowd went nuts as the duel ended and I flicked my sword, picking up Sven's sword without having to bend down. I sheathed my own sword before turning to help my cousin up. I handed him his sword, which he sheathed and the two of us acknowledged the crowd before heading back to the changing rooms.

"God damn," Sven said once we had left the arena floor. "Was that necessary? I feel like I'm going to get a headache from that now."

I shrugged. "Hey, you wanted to fight me, so I wouldn't complain."

"Yeah, but I'm King," he whined.

"Oh, don't use that on me, Sven. When we're in the arena, I'm going to treat you like anyone else. If you get a concussion, you get a concussion. That's not my fault."

Sven rolled his eyes, but let it go. I think he knew that he wasn't going to win that argument.

The two of us started to change out of our armor when Carina came striding into the room.

"Hey, news for you two. Spain just sent a messenger ahead. They say they're going to arrive in around an hour."

"Ok," Sven replied. "Tell the kitchen staff to open lunch. We'll officially recognize them at dinner." He turned towards me. "You're going to help me welcome them, right?"

"Yeah, I'll stand with you when they arrive."

"Ok, great."

"I'll tell my dad to meet you guys," Carina said. "He'll want to be there to help with the arrivals."

"Ok," Sven replied. "Tell him we'll meet him in the dining hall in fifteen minutes."

Carina nodded and left the room.

* * *

The arrival was really uneventful, even for the first one. I guess that's because most people were drifting back from the arena, so they hadn't expected anything to happen so quickly.

It was weird though how formal and sullen the castle felt when there wasn't a fight going on. Sven and I could both feel it right away and I'm sure Hades did as well.

Sven said the usual. 'Welcome to Berlin. We hope you enjoy your stay. Good luck in the tournament,' etc. That night he welcomed them at dinner, which was a surprise for most of the people in the dining hall since they hadn't seen them arrive.

Two days later, about two-thirds of the competitors had arrived when the UK showed up. I had found it harder and harder to focus on the competition and easier and easier to focus on how bad of shape the country was in. It seemed like every time someone arrived, they had to mention Zeus' death, and that did not help us when we were trying to move on. I tried to push that thought aside as the UK contingent trotted through the streets of Berlin.

King Frederick was in the lead, his wife beside him. Behind him, I recognized Lord Henderson with a lady whom I presumed was his wife. After those two I saw Abby, who looked very confused, but she was going to be filled in very quickly. To the left of my sister was Annabeth, finally. A wave of relief poured over me, but I managed to keep my face masked of any emotion. That just took a huge burden off my shoulders.

I quickly looked to see who else was in the contingent before I settled back on Annabeth. I saw Rayne and Ashton in the back along with Isabel, but other than that I didn't recognize anyone. I turned my gaze back towards Annabeth as they rode closer to the castle.

She hadn't changed much since I had last seen her almost two months ago. Her golden blonde hair was still curled like the princess she was, and her stunning grey eyes seemed to be looking around the castle, trying to take in the sights. She wasn't wearing a dress, but rather riding clothes, which was understandable as I assumed they had been riding for a good three, four days now. I turned my gaze to the King as they stopped in front of us, but not before looking back at Annabeth once more. The two of us locked eyes for a second before I turned away.

Sven stepped up.

"Welcome to Berlin," I heard him say to my left. "I am King Sven Olympii. This is my cousin Percy," he motioned towards me, "and my Uncle Hades." He motioned to his left at our uncle. "We welcome you to our castle and our competition. We hope you enjoy your stay here."

I saw Annabeth's dad take a step forward in response.

"Thank you, my lord," he replied. "We accept your hospitality wholeheartedly. Our prayers are with you in light of the recent events."

I swear I saw Sven wince for a second, but he quickly pushed it away.

"Thank you," he said. "But we wish to keep the focus on the competition. Our country is struggling, but we will pull through. We'd appreciate it if you could move on, just as we are trying to do."

King Frederick bowed in response. "As you wish, your highness."

"Thank you." Sven returned the bow. "If you could please dismount, we will have someone direct you to your rooms."

Sven turned towards me as everyone dismounted.

"Where's your sister?" He asked me.

"Right here," I said, pointing as Abby walked up the stairs. "Hey sis."

"Hey Perce, Sven." She turned towards our cousin.

"Hey Abby. It's nice to have you back."

"Thanks, I guess. Either of you care to explain?"

"We will," I told her. "Once the guides come, we'll head back to a back room and get you caught up."

"Ok. Sounds good."

"So," Sven asked. "How was the trip?"

"Fine," she responded. "Lots of worrying due to, you know, but other than that it was ok." She paused for a second. "Can I ask how you're doing, Sven?"

Sven took a deep breath and then sighed. "I'm…managing," he told her. "Times are tough around here, as you'll find out soon enough. Come on," he looked over his shoulder, "let's head inside and get you caught up."

Sven and I led Abby towards one of the backrooms and we quickly took a seat inside.

"Ok, so when you left, they were both still in the infirmary," I told her. I didn't think Sven would be able to talk about this, so I filled my sister in. "Then about two weeks ago, Carina came up to me one day and said that her dad was getting better, so the two of us decided to head down and check. That's when we heard about Zeus." Abby was quiet, so I continued. "Three days later we held the funeral, since we had to do it quick because of Worlds coming up. That's why we couldn't fetch you, Abby. You wouldn't have had enough time to get here."

"Oh, ok," she said. "I guess that makes sense."

I merely nodded. "Two days after the funeral we held Sven's coronation, also because of our short time restraint. Again, due to the same reason, we couldn't get you. The coronation was three days ago, the two of us had a fight and now we're here."

"Wait, you two had a fight?" Abby asked quickly.

Sven let out a short laugh. "No, I think you're thinking of something different, Abby. I challenged Percy to a duel in the arena."

"Oh, ok." Abby looked relieved.

"You know," Sven continued, turning towards me, "I had a headache the next day because of you."

"Oh, whine about it," I told him. "You shouldn't have challenged me then." Abby looked confused, so I continued, "Don't worry about it sis. He's just mad that he lost."

Abby didn't seem convinced, but she let it go.

That night, Abby joined us on the head table as Sven welcomed the newcomers: the UK, France, Switzerland, Russia, Sweden and Italy. The only country left was Denmark, but I knew they wanted to be last as they had the defending champ. They would arrive tomorrow and the official start to Worlds would be the next day.

Once Denmark was announced, I would be announced the following day as the host's participant, the first day of Worlds, and then the tournament would take off from there.

I made eye contact with Annabeth a couple times during dinner and I saw that she seemed a little hopeful every time we locked eyes. I wanted to go up and talk with her right then, but it wasn't the time. I promised myself I'd go up to her room that night and try to talk.

That kind of went down the drain when Lord Aldrich came up to me, saying Sven wanted one last training session with me before the start of the competition.

I reluctantly agreed and I met the two of them in the arena, which was completely empty, something that wouldn't happen in three days' time.

I managed not to whack Sven on the head again and the two of us had a good, relaxed training session. After we were done, the two of us walked back to the castle together.

"Hey," he told me as we were walking back, "Carina is holding one last 'Cousins' Night' in her room before the competition. Care to join?"

I shook my head. "Can't," I told him. "I want to try to find Annabeth tonight. The two of us need to talk."

Sven seemed to understand. "Ok, sounds good. I'll tell Carina."

"If I don't find her, I'll probably stop in. There are so many people milling around, I'm not really liking my luck tonight."

"Ok," he replied. "Well, I'm heading up now, so I'll let her know."

I thanked him one last time before heading off in the opposite direction. I had asked Carina in advance where Annabeth was going to be staying, so I knew where I was heading.

I walked up several flights of stairs before I finally reached my destination. I knocked on the door and waited. There was no answer, so I tried one more time, a little louder, in case she was in the shower or something, but I came up with no response. I sighed, dejected and turned to head back down the stairs when I heard a voice behind me.

"Percy?"

I turned to find not my girlfriend, but Lady Allyson.

"Hey, Lady Allyson," I said. "How's it going?"

"It's going great," she replied. "Are you looking for Annabeth?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I need to talk with her."

"Ok. Sorry though, Percy, but I think she went out with Rayne to explore the castle. You could wait until she comes back."

"No, it's fine. Thanks Lady Allyson. I'll just talk with her tomorrow at breakfast."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "It'll be fine."

"Ok, if you're fine with that." I was about to say good-bye when she continued. "Oh, and Percy?"

I turned to look at her. "Annabeth's really missed you," she said. "Don't go thinking otherwise."

I gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Lady Allyson."

She just smiled and I turned back down the hall to head towards Carina's room.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? I can confirm now that the first event to happen in Chapter 13 will be the Percabeth reunion! Yay for that. Now stop yelling at me.**

**Speaking of Chapter 13, it will be uploaded on Monday along with a new chapter of Scars and Recognition. Chapter 14 uploaded on Thursday. If you haven't heard yet, I've put my new story, The Ten, on a little hiatus for a while so I can hopefully get this story done before I leave for college. The schedule for release dates on the rest of the TPTGATW chapters will be up on my Twitter account within the hour. Lots of quick updating, I can say.**

**Onto the Question of the Chapter: If you could choose any type of demigod to marry (i.e. a daughter of Hermes or a son of Ares), who would you choose and why?**

**I would go with a daughter of Apollo here. First off, you'd have their healing powers, so you basically would be healthy all the time. That's always a plus. Secondly, I would have to choose them based off their appearance. Yeah, daughters of Aphrodite are nice, but I'd have to go with Apollo here. I would go ahead and assume that they would inherit Apollo's blonde hair and I just have this weird obsession with blonde girls. Please don't think I'm creepy for that, but it's true. If you'd put two girls in the same room and they looked identical other than their hair color, I'd probably choose the blonde one. I'm not biased, it's just the truth.**

**Sorry, I've probably scarred you for life, so I'll stop talking.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. We're moving closer and closer to a quarter thousand.**

**This is lucky chapter 13. I think you guys will really enjoy this one, so I won't say much here.**

**Now enjoy Chapter Thirteen of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: If Rick Riordan was writing this story, it would have a lot more cliffhangers.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Annabeth POV

Gods, seeing Percy again had gotten me thinking. Rayne took me out to explore the castle grounds to try to get my mind off him and it worked up until we returned when Lady Allyson had said Percy had stopped by. I had sent daggers at Rayne, but I knew she couldn't have known. Lady Allyson just told me that Percy would talk to me at breakfast, so I let Rayne off the hook.

I slept ok that night, I guess. It took me a while to fall asleep because I was thinking about what Percy would do tomorrow, but then eventually I dozed off.

I woke when I noticed the sun's rays trying to sneak through the blinds and I got up and headed for the shower. When I got out Isabel was already up, so she just hopped in after me. Once the two of us were ready, we joined up with Rayne and Ashton before the four of us headed down to the dining hall.

I was nervous, don't get me wrong. Percy and I had locked eyes a couple times at dinner the night before, but I knew as well as he did that it wasn't the time to talk. We didn't want to make a scene.

The four of us sat down at an empty table after we had gotten something to eat and we made small talk for a couple of minutes, eating in between.

Around five minutes after we had sat down, I was just about to eat a piece of fruit when Rayne tapped me on the shoulder. She didn't say anything, but merely pointed behind me. I turned and there he was.

Percy came to a stop as I rose from my chair and sprinted over to him. Trying not to make a scene went out the window when I saw him. I ran full speed into a hug and he swung me around once before placing me back on the ground. We shared a kiss; a super awesome, amazing, it's-been-too-long kiss, and once we broke apart I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I've missed you, Percy," I said and the dam broke. All of the emotion I had been holding in me for the past two months came flying out and I started crying into his shoulder.

"That much, huh?" He said as he slowly walked me back to the table, careful not to break the hug. We eventually made it and we had to break apart, but I noticed Rayne moved over and an extra chair was to my left. Percy and I sat down and I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes.

Percy didn't do anything other than steal a couple pieces of fruit and I tried to get mad at him, but couldn't. He quickly said greetings to Isabel and Ashton before wrapping Rayne in a short hug, congratulating her on the wedding.

Ashton didn't bring up Percy's speech, which I thought was weird, but I think he was saving it for later, when the two of us had settled down a little bit.

I finally got my crying under control and Percy turned towards me.

"So, here we are," he said and I had to let out a short laugh. Of all the things he could say and he said _that_? I couldn't hold it against him, though. I was just glad to see him again.

"Percy," I tried to say, but my voice caught in my throat.

"Hey, take it easy. Hurry up and finish your breakfast. I want to take you on a tour."

That gave me a little more incentive and I started the last couple bites of food left on my plate.

Within the minute, though, a girl walked over to our table and up to Percy. She looked to be a little younger than me and around the same height. She had long brown hair and green eyes. I looked at her with a little vengeance, thinking she was about to make a move on my boyfriend.

"Percy, Sven needs you," the girl said. "Denmark's arriving."

"What, now?" Percy asked. "But Carina we were about to head out for a tour!" He motioned towards me and the girl turned my way.

The glint in the girl's eye faded and I saw a look of respect come to her face.

"So you're Annabeth, huh?" She asked. "Percy's talked a lot about you."

"Oh really?" I said, looking over at Percy with a smirk on my face.

"Yes," the girl replied. "You're prettier than I imagined."

I blushed at the compliment while the girl turned back to Percy.

"But really," she continued, "Denmark's arriving right now. Annabeth can come with us and she can stand over to the side with me. Then you two can go off on your tour."

"Ok, fine," Percy conceded. "Do you want to come?" He asked me.

"Yeah, sure," I said, popping the final piece of fruit into my mouth. "I'll come." I said good-bye to Rayne, Ashton and Isabel as I joined Percy and the Carina girl in a walk out of the dining hall.

I walked over to the side with Carina as Percy stepped up next to Sven. For the first time, I finally realized who was approaching and my face melted down into a glare as he approached.

Luke seemed smug, riding on his horse behind the King of Denmark. He stared right at me as if showing the fact that he was still interested. I stared daggers at him when Carina tapped my shoulder.

"You ok?" She asked. The glare on my face faded quickly as I turned, not expecting her to talk to me.

"What? Oh, yeah," I said. "It's just Luke tried to make a move on me when Denmark tried to make an alliance with us a couple months ago. It was the day after Percy left, so I looked really bad that day."

"Oh, ok," she replied. "Then please go on staring daggers. I'm not a big fan of him myself. None of us Germans are."

Annabeth knew the rivalry between Germany and Denmark. It was one of the bigger rivalries in Europe. But there was one thing that kept nagging on her.

"Hey, Carina?" She asked and the girl turned her way. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure," she responded. "Go ahead."

"What's your relationship to Percy?"

Carina looked confused for a second, but then she laughed it off.

"Oh, no, no," she said. "Percy and I aren't like that, so you don't have to worry. We're cousins."

"Oh, ok."

"So, no, I'm not going to be stealing him away from you, if that's what you were asking."

"What? No," I responded quickly, although that had been in the back of my mind.

"I understand," Carina replied. "I'm a girl too, you know."

I let out a short laugh, glad she could joke about it.

"Thanks, Carina," I told her.

"No problem. Now come on, I'll help you glare at Luke. I'm normally good at that."

I laughed once more. I was starting to like this girl.

I turned towards Percy and the other two guys as they 'welcomed' the Danes to Berlin. It was the same thing as the other welcomes, but with that little bit of distaste underneath. Carina reminded me that they would be separated in the draw, as the host nation and the defending champion were automatically put into different groups, so at worst they would meet in the knockout stage.

I heard Carina let out a loose strand of cuss words to my right, most of which were probably not kind to Danes, and the two of us turned as Percy approached.

"Gods, the nerves of those guys," he said. I noticed that Percy had the full resentment loaded into his system, even after only being here for a couple of months. I guess an impeding war does that to you.

"Tell me about it," Carina said. "Hey, I gotta get going. Enjoy your tour Annabeth!"

"Thanks," I told her as she walked away. I turned towards my boyfriend, glad that it was finally just the two of us. He leaned in for a quick peck.

"Ready to go?" He asked. I nodded and the two of us took off.

I had already noticed that the castle's overall area seemed to be about that of London's, if not a little bigger. We walked across the drawbridge of the castle, passing many people who were out wandering the streets. With everyone here now, the official beginning of the tournament was set for tomorrow.

Percy first led me to the arena, which was made of brown stone and rose around seventy feet high. He told me that the arena had an amazing atmosphere when it was filled and the first duel was sure to show that.

We headed over to the stables and I checked up on Starry, my horse, before saying hello to Blackjack, who Percy was going to ride into the arena at the announcement of the participants on Day Three.

We swung around to the amphitheater, which looked like it was about to put on a play as many people were making their way into the stands. Percy led me to the archery range and then over to the small village inside the castle along with its small market. Percy bought a small loaf of bread and the two of us shared as we walked around the castle.

It took us around five minutes or so to finish the loaf, just enough time for us to walk into a graveyard. I stopped, but Percy grabbed my hand.

"Come on," he said. "I want to show you something."

I reluctantly followed him as he led me towards the center of the graveyard where I saw two gravestones, one which I recognized as their late King Zeus'. The other gravestone was a little different. The gravestone itself was basically the same, but on top flew three gold ribbons which were tied to the gravestone. They looked like they had been flying there for a long time. I looked down at the name. _Poseidon Olympii. A man taken too soon,_ was underneath the name. It took me a second, but I remembered back to the final of the Championships. I came to a sudden realization and looked up at Percy.

"Your dad?" I asked. He nodded.

"Three gold ribbons. Three World Championships," he said.

I looked back at the ribbons and realized he was right. That's why the ribbons seemed so familiar. They were what Percy was fighting for in this tournament.

"Why'd you bring me out here?" I asked him.

"I needed to relax," he said. "For some reason, thinking about my dad always helped me do that. I wear his sword, you know."

I looked down at Percy scabbard before looking back up in his eyes. He had never told me that.

"I never knew my dad, Annabeth," he continued. "All I have left of him is his sword and his gravestone."

"Oh, Percy," I said, walking up and wrapping him in a hug. "Don't worry, he's watching. He knows what you've done, so all that's left is to follow in his footsteps."

"You say that likes it's nothing," he replied. "You don't know what it's like." I could tell he was starting to get a little angry. "I grew up without a father. I grew up not knowing who I really was, or what I could accomplish, all because of some guy who had to kill him." He broke away from me and I stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to say as he ranted on.

"And now Zeus is gone. He was taken away too early. Do you even know what it's like to try to run the country at seventeen? How about Sven? He was thrown into the position even younger than I was! It's just not fair!"

I blocked out the rest of Percy's yelling and I stared at his dad's grave and the three gold ribbons. Without meaning to, I found myself crying, the tears falling onto the grave of someone who could have been a second father to me. I heard Percy quickly quiet and wrap his arms around me. He asked me what was wrong, but I couldn't answer him. I thought about everything bad that happened in my life and I couldn't even measure up to what Percy had gone through. My mom had gotten pregnant at nineteen. Percy's mom was pregnant two years younger than that. I tried to imaging what his mom had gone through, having two kids and then having her husband die soon after, running away to some different country, trying to start a new life, trying to forget everything bad that happened back home?

I looked up at Percy through tears. How could I cope if Percy gave me two kids and then left me, dying on the battlefield and leaving me alone?

"I'm-I'm sorry," I said. Percy hugged me and told me it was ok. This was so wrong, _so _wrong. It should have been the other way around. I was supposed to be consoling _him_, not him consoling me.

Thankfully the graveyard was empty. I don't know what would have happened if someone was watching us.

I finally settled down, with a little help from Percy. We shared a couple kisses and then he finally asked if I wanted to go on.

I told him I wanted to, and the two of us headed back out of the graveyard.

Gods, I thought, I hope that never happens again. But some nagging thought kept telling me that it was going to. I brushed the thought away, knowing that this morning Percy and I had gotten a lot closer.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Kind of a sappy chapter, but oh well. I just realized that it was a straight shot, no breaks in between events. That might be a first for me.**

**Onto update news. Chapter 14, like stated last chapter, will be up on Thursday, August 1st and then I will be uploading my first Saturday chapter on August 3rd. That will be Chapter 15. I'm under three weeks till college and I have 8 chapters to post. That's basically a chapter every two days, so look for very quick turnarounds guys.**

**In other news, a new chapter of Scars and Recognition will be up later today, so look for that in a couple hours.**

**Also, big news. This Friday marks the one year anniversary of the debut of The Princess and the Peasant. To celebrate that debut, I will be releasing my first one-shot, which is based off one of the songs I wrote for The Big Three. I'm thinking it has a good chance to be turned into a full story, but that will be decided way later.**

**Ok, that's all the news, so onto the Question of the Chapter: Leo Valdez and Hazel have quite the unique connection. She liked Sammy Valdez, an ancestor of Leo's. Here's the question: What is the connection between Leo and Sammy?**

**Correct answers will receive shout-outs as always.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	14. Chapter 14

**And we're back, as promised. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, we managed to pass the 250 review mark!**

**Last chapter I asked you guys about the connection between Leo and Sammy Valdez and we have a couple winners. The two of them are separated by three generations, so I accepted either great-grandfather or great-grandson. A couple of you gave me just grandfather and unfortunately that isn't right. Here are your winners: Ble fotia, roselovemedana, elliefs, Silver Ride, numbah435spiritsong, percyjason, wisdom-of-the-sea, Bob, Riptide246, LeahTymara, annabeth the wise girl and one guest. Congratulations to all.**

**We move on with the story now. After this chapter we are two-thirds of the way done!**

**Enjoy Chapter Fourteen of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: It takes me longer to come up with these disclaimers than it does to write a chapter.**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Annabeth POV

It was three days after my breakdown in the graveyard. The day after Percy gave me a tour, he was announced as the host nation's participant to a resounding crowd. He would have a ton of support at these championships.

Right now I was sitting in the stands of the arena waiting for the announcement of the participants. The arena was packed solid, people from every nation out to support their competitor. Rayne, Ares, Lady Allyson, Isabel, my parents, as well as Lord Henderson's wife were all seated together with me in a small section of the stands. We were ready to cheer when the UK was announced.

Each nation would be announced in alphabetical order, the only exceptions being the defending champion being second-to-last and the host country being the last to enter. Denmark would normally be first, but they were now second-to-last because they were the defending champion, so Finland would lead us off.

A single guy walked out from the tunnel of the competitors and the crowd hushed to a low murmur.

"I am pleased to announce the champion of Finland!" He announced and a small crowd on the far side yelled with joy. The rest of the people clapped in respect as the threesome road out on their horses.

I should probably explain why there were three horses. On the first horse rode the sign-bearer, a guy who held a sign saying the name of the country in their native language and then English. I thought it was kind of unnecessary, seeing how it wasn't that difficult to remember the countries, but I figured it was tradition and couldn't be thrown out.

The guy on the second horse was the competitor himself, all clad up in his armor, his helmet by his side. I knew another tradition was that the competitors would don their helmets after the welcoming speech, showing they were ready to compete.

The third horseman carried the country's flag and would position himself behind the swordsman, signifying his respect and support for his country's competitor.

The three horsemen made their way to the far left side of the arena and then turned to face the German King. They would form a semi-circle around the arena, leaving a space in the center for the defending champion and the host participant. Otherwise they would go in alphabetical order. Unfortunately for us, the UK would be on the far right as the last participant.

The participating countries were announced one by one. France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland were announced in order. Then came our turn.

"I am pleased to announce the champion of the United Kingdom!"

Our little group stood and clapped, hooting and hollering as Lord Henderson was led in. Ashton was carrying the flag and he proudly gave us a grin when he came to a stop behind our champion.

We took a seat as the guy walked back out to announce the next participant.

"I am somewhat pleased to announce the champion of Denmark and the defending champion of these World Championships."

I started to clap as Luke came out, even though I hated his guts. I figured the Germans would still show their respect, even though they hated the Danes. That's what we had done when we hosted the competition ten years ago when the Irish came out. We hated them and they hated us, but we still showed each other respect. I thought the Germans would do the same, but boy was I wrong. Luke got _destroyed _with insults and booing and they easily drowned out the few Danes who had come to cheer on their competitor. I cracked a huge smile and was about to join in when I thought better of it. Germans could do it, but I wasn't German and I was a royal. I kept up my feeling of respect, although I did stop clapping. I figured I'd talk about it with Percy later that night after the group draw.

Speaking of Percy, he was up next. The crowd quieted on a dime as the announcer walked back out into the arena.

"I am extremely pleased to announce the champion of Germany, our lord, your highness, the Royal Prince of Berlin!"

The crowd went nuts. I think I lost my hearing for a second or two it was _that _loud. Percy rode in calmly, keeping his gaze straight ahead as he accepted the support. He took his place by Luke, ignoring him and turned his gaze to the German King, who had now risen. The crowd quieted suddenly.

"Willkommen zu Berlin!" He yelled and the Germans responded with another cheer that practically took out my eardrums. "Welcome to Berlin! We are proud to be hosting this year's World Championships. Before I go into my welcoming speech, I would like you all to stand for the playing of the French national anthem to be followed by the German national anthem." The crowd responded, and stood as one.

I knew what was happening as did almost everyone else. This was the ceremonial changing of the guard. First, the national anthem of last year's host (France) would play before being followed by the national anthem of this year's host (obviously Germany). This would repeat itself in the closing ceremony, except the German anthem would precede next year's host (I think Russia).

The French national anthem sounded throughout the arena, the pockets of French supporters singing along as the rest of the stadium stood quiet. When the anthem finally finished, there was a small bout of applause, but it was quickly cut off by the German national anthem.

I have never heard such support in my entire life. Every word, every note was accentuated by each German standing in the stands. I turned my gaze towards Percy, but he was too busy keeping his gaze on the flag and singing along. I would have to ask him to teach me the words, so I could sing along as well. I'd ask him tonight.

The song ended to obnoxious cheering and all eyes turned towards the King as people took their seats. The crowd quieted as the King stepped forward once more.

"Danke schön. Thank you," he said. "I would now like to welcome each and every one of you to our great city of Berlin. We are glad you could sacrifice your time to spend it here with us." He turned towards the competitors. "I welcome each of the competitors to our arena. In here over the next two weeks you will duel to determine the best swordsman in all of Europe. You will have people rooting for you, rooting against you and people here just to watch. Put on a show for each one of them. Stand proud during your national anthems and show your country's pride throughout the entire tournament. The draw is tonight. Within ten hours you will know who you face, who you'll have to defeat to move on. Some will have an easy road. Others will have a more difficult one. But once we reach the knockout stage, all bets are off. You have no choice. Every duel must be your best in order to survive. Will you have the strength to keep moving on? We will find out in these next two weeks."

The German King paused for dramatic effect, staring into each competitor's eyes before finally continuing.

"I am now pleased to open these championships! May you stand behind your country!"

"And may your country stand behind you," I replied along with the rest of the crowd. It was another tradition with Worlds. The speaker, normally the King, would say the first part of the sentence: 'May you stand behind your country,' and the crowd would finish the sentence: 'And may your country stand behind you.' I thought it was one of the more epic traditions of Worlds. The participants then threw on their helmets, much to the crowd's approval, and then they recessed out backwards, Percy going first, then Luke and the rest of the countries in reverse alphabetical order.

The crowd started to disperse once the competitors had completely disappeared. I turned towards Rayne, who had been sitting on my left.

"Wow," was all I was able to say. "What a ceremony."

"Tell me about it," she replied. "They're ready for a tournament."

My parents must have been eavesdropping.

"The Germans need a pick-me-up," my mother said. "They are pouring everything into this tournament, especially their hatred towards the Danes."

I let out a snort. "That's for sure. Gods, I've never seen such hatred for a single country."

"They have a huge rivalry." My mother shrugged. "The war threats didn't help."

I let it go and turned towards Lord Henderson's wife.

"I hope your husband does well in the tournament," I told her. "But don't hate me if he faces Percy again and I root against him."

She just laughed. "Don't worry," she said. "I can't control who you can and cannot root for. But like you said, I do hope he does well."

"He should," I said. "He's one of the best swordsmen to come through the UK in a while."

Lady Henderson gave me a grateful smile, but otherwise let it go. We headed out of the arena and started to head back to our rooms when I saw Carina standing over to the side. She caught my eye and waved at me to come over. I told Rayne and Isabel I'd meet up with them later and headed over beside the German princess.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked her. Percy had taken me over to her room two nights ago and we chatted for a long time. We had a lot in common and I immediately knew that she was going to become one of my best friends.

"Nothing much," she replied. "I'm waiting for Percy to come out. We were going to head up to the castle and relax for a little before the draw. I figured you wanted in on it so I waved you over."

"Oh, thanks Carina."

"No problem. Anything for my best English friend."

"Carina, I'm probably your _only_ English friend."

"So?" She asked. "Oh look, here's Percy." She waved to catch his attention. Eventually he noticed us and made his way over. He wrapped me in a quick hug.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked me.

"Carina invited me to join you guys. That alright with you?"

"Yeah. Perfect, in fact." I blushed a little, still happy that Percy could do that so easily.

The three of us headed up to the rooms and chatted for a couple hours before heading down to lunch. After lunch I stole Percy away from Carina and his other cousins and took him upstairs to Rayne's room where we reminisced with those guys for the next couple hours before Percy said he had to leave to get ready for the draw. I gave him a kiss and told him I'd see him down at dinner. I turned towards Rayne, Ashton and Isabel as Lord Ares and Lady Allyson followed Percy out of the room.

"You're never going to get over him, are you?" Rayne asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Come on, Annabeth. You know as well as I do that Percy has a strong connection here. You and I both saw him at the ceremony this morning, singing along with the rest of the Germans. What if he stays here? You can't just leave England. You're the only heir to the throne. What if Percy leaves you?"

My first reaction was to snap at her, to say that that would never happen, but I hesitated. What if Percy _did _stay here? What if he _did _leave me? Luckily Ashton stepped in before I started to bawl my eyes out.

"Rayne, why would you say something like that?" He chided. "Annabeth's in a good mood from the ceremony, seeing the support behind her boyfriend and you come and shatter it with something that would never happen. Just what were you thinking?"

Isabel came over next to me and wrapped her arm around my waist, giving me one of those 'side-hugs.' I thought about what Ashton had said and I calmed down for the moment. Rayne turned towards me.

"Sorry, Annabeth. I shouldn't have said that. You going to be ok?"

I nodded and took another deep breath. "I'm going to go get ready," I announced before leaving the room. I needed time to think. I hopped in the shower, being sure to take my time.

By the time I got out of the shower a half-hour later I had completely forgotten about what happened with Rayne. I slipped on a white dress and let Isabel hop in after me.

Once Isabel was out of the shower and dressed, we hooked up with the others and headed down to dinner, where the draw was going to be taking place.

They announced everyone, just like they did at the Championships in London. I caught Percy's eye when he sat down to the left of the King and he gave me a wink. I returned a smile.

Dinner was served first and I would be lying to you if I said the food wasn't absolutely amazing. They truly saved a good meal for the first one. Once everyone had finished their entrees and the plates were cleared, the German King stood as dessert was being passed out.

"Welcome again, competitors and royals alike," he said. "Tonight we conduct the draw for this year's World Championships." A small cheer arose from the crowd. "As we go through tonight's draw, be sure to enjoy your German chocolate cake, specially made for this occasion." I looked down at the piece of cake that was placed in front of me and I could feel my stomach rumble, even though we just ate. This piece of cake looked _that_ good. I thanked the server as he handed me a fork and I turned my attention back to the King. "Without further ado, let's get started. Percy, could you join me on stage?"

I saw Percy shove one last bite of cake into his mouth before standing quickly and taking his place by his cousin. I let out a short giggle as I locked eyes with him. He gave me another wink and turned to face his cousin. I followed his lead. Percy was probably going to be the one to pick the flags out of the jar.

That was another thing I liked about Worlds. Instead of just writing the countries on little strips of paper like we did with our tournament, they got ahold of little flags of each of the countries and they would pin them to a board so that everyone could see. The German and Danish flags were already pinned in spots A1 and B1 respectively. Percy would select each of the remaining flags and they would get pinned as they were announced.

"Cousin, if you could," the King said and I now saw he was holding a jar which I presumed had the flags in them.

Percy reached in and pulled out the Portugal flag.

"Portugal," he said, showing everyone so they clearly knew who it was. He handed it to a servant to his right who posted it up onto the board.

Percy pulled out the next flag, one I recognized immediately.

"The United Kingdom." He seemed to show it in our direction for a little longer than normal and I gave him a smile. I could hear several of the people at our table sigh with relief that we were taken so early. I had to agree. The farther along you went, the more nervous you got.

I kind of zoned out, looking at the board as it slowly filled up. Eventually the rest of the flags were picked and the groups were set. This is how it went down: Group A consisted of Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands; Group B involved Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Russia; Group C was Portugal, Ireland, Finland and Greece; and finally Group D included the UK, Iceland, Switzerland and Norway. I nodded, pretty sure we had gotten a good draw, but you could never be sure until the duels were over. This was the World Championships after all.

"Thank you, Percy," Sven said. "The groups are set. The first round match-ups will be announced tomorrow with the duels starting on the next day. Good luck to all of the competitors."

The servants pushed the board to the side of the dining hall where it would be visible to all of the people who came through this hall. It would be updated after each duel. People started to disperse and I stood up to follow when someone wrapped me up from behind.

I yelped and turned to find Percy.

"Percy," I said. "Gods, you scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin. "Come on, it's just you and me tonight."

I looked quickly over at my mom, asking permission, but she just waved her hand dismissively, as if to say, 'Have fun. Don't worry about us.' I gave her a smile and turned to my boyfriend.

"Ok, let's go."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Wow, two straight chapters without a break? That's got to be like winning the lottery or something.**

**Anyway, what did you think? I did the draw a little different than I did in TPATP, so tell me if you like it better or worse. Also tell me what you thought about the announcement of the participants. That's something new from the original story.**

**Onto news: Chapter 15 is out Saturday with Chapter 16 out the following Monday. I think from here on out it is a chapter every other day, with maybe one exception, so be sure to check back quickly for a new chapter, or else you might miss one.**

**In other news, I will be pushing back the newest chapter of Scars and Recognition back to TUESDAY. With The Ten coming off it's little hiatus on Monday as well, I would be uploading three chapters on one day, and I think it's a little too much right now with me working so hard on this story. So that's a little FYI if you've been reading S&R as well.**

**Also, my one-shot comes out tomorrow! Woo hoo! I hope all of you check it out, especially if you've read The Big Three. It isn't necessary to have to have read TB3, but it might help you a little bit. Remember, it's also the one year anniversary of TPATP, so make sure to bring out your Welsh flags and celebrate!**

**Ok, I've talked too much this chapter. Onto the Question of the Chapter: In the Sea of Monsters, Chapter Fourteen: We Meet The Sheep Of Doom, in order to get into Polyphemus's cave Percy must ride under the belly of a sheep. Here's the question: What was the name of that sheep?**

**Correct answers get shout-outs, like usual.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. We passed The Big Three and this story is now my second-most popular story based off reviews, only behind the one and only prequel.**

**Last chapter I asked you guys about the sheep Percy rode into Polyphemus's cave and we have a couple winners. A few of you said the question was hard, but I have to disagree with you. I gave you both the book and chapter I got the question from. I think you guys can scan 13 pages and find the answer. Anyway, the following people all gave me the correct name of Widget: roselovemedana, iliketrains, Percabeth4ever25, BrianaValdez167, Ble fotia, numbah435spiritsong and annabeth the wise girl. Congratulations to all.**

**Onto the chapter. This is Chapter 15. Only six more chapters after this guys.**

**Enjoy Chapter Fifteen of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: Sea of Monsters movie is out in four days!**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: Percy POV

The next two days were basically me parading Annabeth around the castle grounds. Several people throughout those walks around the castle came up to us and I introduced them to Annabeth and vice versa. I could tell she was struggling remembering all of the names, but she didn't say anything to me about it, so I let it go.

Finally, Day Five came around; the first day of fighting. Annabeth joined me for breakfast _extremely _early, since I was always going to have the first duel as host. There was basically no one in the dining hall, but I was fine by that. I could tell Annabeth was too. We basically ate in silence, other than the occasional chatter here and there.

Once we were done, I led her up to my room and the two of us relaxed for a half-hour. I then hopped into the shower, but not before receiving a hug and a good-luck kiss.

After my nice warm shower, I got dressed and started to walk over to the arena alone. Adler and Lord Aldrich said they would meet me there, but for now I was by myself and I liked it that way. It gave me time to think.

As I walked over, I saw many people making their way towards the arena, mostly with German flags and other representations of Germany. I had to smile with all of the support I was getting. Although, to be honest, I thought it put a little more pressure on me because I had to satisfy more people than anyone else. I pushed that thought aside though. This was the World Championships. There was pressure on everybody.

The closer I got to the arena, the more people walked up to me, clapped me on the back and wished me luck. I thanked them for the support, but it was really distracting from my focus. Eventually I made it back to the changing room and found I was the first one there. However, within three minutes, both Lord Aldrich and Adler showed up.

"You ready?" My little cousin asked me.

"You bet," I told him. "Although, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous."

"Don't worry," Lord Aldrich said, "they'll go away. Duel nerves are just like battlefield nerves; they're there before the battle, but once you get into the heat of the action they're gone."

"I know," I replied. "But that doesn't help me until I get into the arena."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, you technically are in the arena already."

I turned towards my cousin. He was always thinking on the technical side of things.

"Thanks, Adler."

He just smiled.

"Come on," Lord Aldrich said, "let's get you ready."

With that, the next ten minutes were spending making sure my armor was good and tight and wasn't cracked or had a strap that was frayed, etc. Everything was good and my teacher handed me my helmet.

"Good luck," he said. "Make your country proud."

I nodded. "I will."

I ruffled Adler's hair once more for luck and the two of them headed out of the room. Within five minutes an official came to grab me.

"Are you ready, my lord?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's time to give this country something to cheer for."

He gave me a grin. "Then follow me, my lord, and we'll get this tournament under way."

The official led me through the tunnel and we stopped just at the end barely out of sight. Well, the people on the very ends could see me, but that didn't do any good for the rest of the spectators.

All was quiet for around a minute, until the trumpets started to blare, which was our cue to start walking out. I followed the official as the crowd started going nuts. I smiled and waved to a couple people who I recognized in the stands. A lot of people told me to be formal and keep my gaze straight ahead, but I ignored them. This was the World Championships. Win or lose, I was going to enjoy myself.

I followed the official towards the center of the arena, getting serious as I got closer to my opponent. I shook hands with the Frenchman and the two of us separated, leaving a short gap between us.

I caught a glimpse of the German flag making its way behind me, but I kept my gaze straight forward. Sven rose and the crowd quieted.

"This is the first duel in this year's World Championships!" He started. The crowd responded with a roar. "This is Group A action! Entering from the East side of the arena is the champion of France!" A small cheer could be heard along with clapping as the Germans showed their respect. "Entering from the West side of the arena is your champion of Germany, the Royal Prince of Berlin!"

The crowd erupted and I finally caught Annabeth's eye. She was sitting with my sister and Carina just to the right of Sven. The three of them gave me each a smile and I happily returned one to them as the crowd quieted once more.

"Now gentlemen," Sven continued, "I expect a well-matched, exciting, clean duel out here today. May the best man win." He nodded at each of us. "Please stand for the national anthem of France, to be followed by the national anthem of Germany!"

The crowd cheered, but then quickly quieted in respect as the French national anthem began. About a fourth of the crowd was French and you could hear them singing along with their national anthem. When it ended a quick bout of clapping arose and I turned to face the German flag as the national anthem started. I sang along, silently thanking Carina for teaching me the words.

I could feel goosebumps forming on my skin as the anthem played and several thousand Germans sang along. When the anthem finished I quickly donned my helmet and drew my sword. I turned towards my competitor and saw that he had done the same thing. We had to wait a couple seconds for the flags and officials to make their way out of the arena, but then Sven spoke.

"You may now begin!" A cheer arose and the Frenchman came flying at me.

I guess he was trying to throw me off my high after the national anthem, but it wasn't good enough. He sent an overhand flying at my shield and I easily deflected it. I came around for a quick backhand, but he managed to recover and block it. I was a little surprised, but I overcame it quickly. This was the World Championships. These would be the best swordsmen I have ever faced.

He sent a slash at me and I parried with my sword before returning a side-swipe of my own. He took that on his shield and the two of us circled around.

He sent a lightning-quick thrust at me that I barely deflected and went on the attack. I immediately started to panic, but my training took over. I focused on blocking his strokes, slowly backing up under his power, waiting for the right time to counterattack. You could hear the worry escalating in the crowd as I took another step back and then another. I pushed their worry out of my head and focused on my fight.

I parried slash after slash and found I was still quicker than him. I brought my shield down to my stomach more as I knew he had a lightning-quick thrust.

I finally stood my ground and deflected his overhand with my shield as I came around with a slash of my own. He seemed a little thrown off by the fact that I counterattacked during his attack and I used that to my advantage.

Once I had turned on the attack he had no chance. Overhand, backhand, overhand, thrust, side-swipe, thrust, backhand; I just kept throwing the strokes at him, carefully setting up my final move.

Finally, after one last thrust, I sent a slash down towards his feet. He blocked it, but his gaze was directed downwards, so he never saw my shield crash coming. He stumbled and I threw another overhand at him and that toppled him over. He tried to parry my last slash from the ground, but he was too dazed. I knocked his sword out of his hand and it clattered to the ground a few feet away.

The German crowd erupted. First match: win. I acknowledged them and helped my competitor up. He sheathed his sword and we both bowed to Sven before heading our separate ways.

As I headed out, a few people reached down and I gave them a high-five as I walked into the changing rooms. I was barely alone for a minute before Annabeth ran into the room, quickly followed by Abby and Carina.

Annabeth gave me a hug, which was quite awkward as I was sitting on a bench taking my armor off. Abby and Carina waited until I was finished before I stood up and gave them each a hug.

"You scared us," Abby said. "When we saw you backing up we thought you were going to lose."

"I knew what I was doing," I told her. "It turned out alright, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but try not to do that again. You just about scared Annabeth into having a heart attack."

I looked over at my girlfriend. "Sorry. I'll be quicker next time." She gave me a half-smile as if to say, 'You better.' "Come on," I continued, "let's head up and catch the next duel. I need to scout for tomorrow."

* * *

The next day was easier. I was facing the guy from the Netherlands, and he was about as good as the guy I had faced in the semifinals in the Championships back in London. He never really threatened me, but it did take a while to beat him. Eventually his sword was on the floor on the arena and I was walking out with my second win.

That night, I found out that I was already assured of advancing to the quarterfinals. The final guy in my group, Spain, had defeated France as well, so we were both 2-0. The last duel wouldn't mean much other than the fact of deciding who won the group.

Another fact I found out that night was that the guy from Denmark was 2-0 as well and pretty much assured of winning his group. I knew the winner of Group B faced the runner-up in A and he was not someone I wanted to face in the quarterfinals, that much I was certain.

Finding out those two facts already solidified my strategy for the final group match-up on Day Eight. We had one day separating for the informal ball, as well as a little rest in the tournament, before we picked up with the last group duel. I had already decided to hang out with Annabeth and my English friends that day before the ball.

The next morning I woke to someone pounding on my door. I yelled at Abby to get it and turned over on my other side, away from the door. Abby had moved in with me, just like we had done in Wales, the two of us living together in the same room. I heard my sister throw some choice words at me, but she reluctantly got out of bed and opened the door.

"Annabeth, what are you doing up so early?" I heard my sister ask with a whine. "It's a rest day. We're supposed to _rest._"

At the sound of my girlfriend's name, I turned back towards the door, but before I could completely focus, something jumped into me. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before snuggling in with me.

"Abby, what are you talking about?" She replied. "It's almost noon. You two missed breakfast."

I heard Abby yell, "What?" as I mumbled, "Who needs breakfast?" I heard Annabeth let out a small laugh, but I wasn't sure whether it was over my comment or my sister's.

I honestly didn't care. The two of us were up really late last night talking with Carina, Sven and the other cousins, so sleeping in was probably good for us. Well, it was good for me at least.

After around fifteen more minutes of lying in bed, Annabeth finally made me get up. Abby had hopped in the shower almost immediately, but now that she was out my girlfriend pestered me to get up.

I eventually got up, albeit reluctantly. I hopped into a cold shower and by the time I got out I was fully awake. I joined up with Annabeth and the two of us headed down for an early lunch, mostly because I had missed breakfast and was hungry. We ate slowly, talking between bites, waiting for Rayne and Ashton to show up. That's when someone unexpected slipped in next to Annabeth.

"Mind if I sit here?" The lady asked. Annabeth turned towards her voice.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you two when you were alone. I figured now was the right time to do that."

"Ok," Annabeth said, unconvinced. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to hear what happened from Percy," she said, turning towards me. I immediately got a feeling of panic. She was going to rat me out for all of my bad decisions and yell at me and tell me that I couldn't see her daughter ever again.

"But mom, I already told you."

"I know. But I want to hear it from Percy. Don't worry, Percy, I won't chastise you for your decisions. Everything's worked out in the end, so don't be afraid."

I took a deep breath and took the plunge. I told the two of them about everything. Everything from the time that I got the letter to the time I arrived here in Berlin to the funeral and Sven's coronation. I ended with their arrival around a week ago.

Annabeth's mom merely nodded. "Thanks for explaining, Percy."

"You're welcome," I replied. "If I had to do it over again, I probably would have done it differently, but oh well. You can't change the past."

"Don't take it so lightly. You had a lot of people worried." She paused. "But like you said, it's all in the past. Let's enjoy right now. I'm assuming you're going together tonight?"

I directed the question to Annabeth.

"Yeah mom," she said. "But it's only the informal ball, so I don't have to be dressed up too much."

"Alright," her mom replied. "I have to get going. Your father and I will see you two down there. Enjoy the night you two."

We thanked her and Annabeth's mom took off. Annabeth turned towards me.

"Sorry about, you know."

"Don't worry about it," I said. "She deserved to know."

"Whatever. Come on, let's go." Annabeth started to stand when I grabbed her arm.

"What about Rayne?"

Annabeth thought about it for a second and then sat back down. "Sorry. My mom throws me off sometimes."

I gave her a smile. "Hey, that's why I'm here, right?"

Annabeth gave me a grateful look, but otherwise let it go. Rayne and Ashton quickly showed up and the four of us got talking while they ate. Once they were done eating, I led the three of them out around the castle and we walked around for the next couple hours. Soon, however, I needed to head up to get changed and the other three said they had to as well. I split apart from them and made my way up to my room. Abby was already there and she had on a simple black dress. She looked up at me as I entered.

"How do I look?" She asked.

"Good," I told her. When my sister gave me a skeptical look I continued, "Abby, you look fine. If you wanted a legit opinion ask Carina. She knows better than I do."

Abby rolled her eyes at me, but she seemed satisfied. I quickly changed into my attire, a white shirt with black slacks and shoes. I clipped my sword to my side and attempted to comb my hair, again failing horribly. Abby handed me a black tie, which I put on, and then I followed her out of the room, rolling my sleeves up as I walked. Hey, it was an informal ball. I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

We were one of the first ones downstairs. Abby and I joined in a conversation with Sven, Carina and Elisabeth. We talked for about fifteen minutes as other people started to filter in when Elisabeth pointed behind me.

"Hey Percy, isn't that your girlfriend?"

I turned to see where she was pointing. "Where?" I asked.

"There," she said pointing Annabeth out to me. "Ugh, she's standing next to the Dane."

I noticed that too. Annabeth was standing next to the Danish competitor, obviously not very pleased. She was scanning the crowds, surely looking for me.

"I'll go get her," I told the group.

As I started to walk away, Sven said, "Don't start anything." I turned back towards him, gave an 'a-ok' sign and continued walking.

Annabeth noticed me first, thank the gods. We were about eight feet or so apart when she started moving towards me. I wrapped her in a hug, pretending not to notice the Dane.

"Percy!" She said.

"Hey," I replied. "Abby and the rest of the gang are on the far side. Let's go." I turned, placing my left arm around her shoulders and the two of us started to walk away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

I turned, despite Annabeth's protests and faced the Dane, pretending to notice him for the first time.

"Were you talking to me?" I asked innocently.

"Yeah," he replied. "Just where do you think you're going with my girl?"

I was about to deck this guy when Annabeth pulled my arm and I held back. I channeled my anger into words.

"Oh, your girl, huh? I wasn't aware you two were dating. Annabeth, I thought you were more courteous than that. Why haven't you introduced me yet?"

Annabeth looked ready to kill me herself. Then she caught my eye and we came to a compromise. Annabeth sighed as if reluctant.

"Fine. Percy, this is Luke," she said. "Luke, this is my boyfriend, Percy."

Then, quick as lightning, I stepped on Luke's foot, releasing Annabeth from my left arm. As Luke doubled over I brought around my right fist and punched him in the gut. Luke crumpled to the ground.

I bent down so he could hear me. "There's more where that came from. Next time, make sure she's single before making a move."

I wrapped my arm back around Annabeth's shoulder and I led her back towards the other side of the hall. People were gawking as Luke struggled to get back under his feet.

As we got back closer to my cousins, I saw Sven was looking back and forth between me and the wreckage behind me.

"Percy," he said. "I told you not to start something."

I turned back around, catching Luke's gaze as he finally got back on his feet. He gave me a look of hatred and I just returned a smirk. I turned back to Sven.

"I didn't start it," I told him. "I finished it."

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, that honestly is my favorite line of the entire story so far. I initially planned on completing the ball in this chapter, but I just had to end with that absolutely amazing line. Anyway, tell me what you thought. Good, bad, indifferent? I always appreciate feedback, whether good or bad.**

**Onto news. The next chapter will be out Monday. Look for it!**

**In other news, I released my one-shot/new story yesterday. It is called California, so check it out if you have the time. Next, The Ten is coming off its hiatus this Monday as well, so expect a new chapter there. Next chapter of Scars and Recognition has been pushed back to Tuesday, as stated last chapter. Look for that if you read that story.**

**Now for the Question of the Chapter: If you could change someone famous into a demigod (like how Riordan turned George Washington into a son of Athena), who would you choose and who would their parent be? Explanation necessary.**

**I would turn Abraham Lincoln into a son of Nemesis. Here's why: Lincoln was able to go to war with the Confederacy and win, holding the country together. That deserves a huge amount of good luck, but Nemesis is the goddess of balance, so it must be balanced out with some extreme bad luck. That is why Lincoln had to lose his life, just like Ethan Nakamura lost his eye. Now don't get me wrong, I love Lincoln. He's one of my favorite presidents. I am just putting his life in the perspective of a demigod's that would make sense.**

**Please shoot me some entries. I'd be interested to see what you come up with.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and gave me their human-to-demigod suggestions. I had some quite interesting ones.**

**Onto Chapter 16. Only a half-dozen chapters left guys.**

**Enjoy Chapter Sixteen of The Prince, The Girl and The World.  
**

**Disclaimer: Percy lives in New York, not Germany.**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Percy POV

I caught King Frederick's eye as he surveyed the wreckage. He had obviously seen everything go down. He nodded approvingly.

Sven let it go, but he warned me that Luke would hate me even more after that.

"He's a Dane," I replied. "I hate him already."

Sven had pulled me aside as the two of us talked. We rejoined the girls now.

Annabeth was the first to speak. "Thanks, Percy."

I just grinned. "That's what I'm here for, right?"

She wrapped me in a hug, but otherwise didn't say anything. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to find two people, a guy and a girl.

The guy looked to be around a year older than me. He had short blond hair and electric blue eyes. He was well built and athletic looking and he had a sword down by his side. The girl beside him had darker skin and chocolate brown hair. Her eyes seemed to be blue or green. I couldn't really tell. Maybe they were actually hazel. I let it go. She was very pretty overall, although I would still prefer Annabeth. She wore a light blue dress. The guy extended his hand for a handshake.

"I'm Jason Grace," he said. "This is my girlfriend Piper. I'm from Ireland, she's from Greece. I saw what you did back there. Very impressive."

I shook his hand. "Percy Jackson," I replied. "And thanks."

"No problem," he told me. "Actually it was Piper's idea. She told me I should get to know the other competitors, so I figured I'd say that while I was here."

"Oh, ok. So Piper, you're from Greece?"

"Yeah," she replied timidly. "I'm only a minor princess though. The only reason I got to come along was because Jason was fighting. My cousin's the one who's doing the fighting for us."

"That's cool. How is he doing so far? Do I have any chance at meeting him?"

"Yeah, I think so. He's 2-0 right now. He actually fights Jason tomorrow, so I'm a little conflicted."

"Really?" She nodded. "Well, a piece of advice. Root for your cousin. You can always make it up to Jason later."

Piper gave me a smile.

"You're going to listen to that, Pipes?" Jason asked. "Just because he's the host's participant doesn't mean you listen to everything he says."

I let out a short laugh. "Hey, I am quite persuasive." Jason and Piper both laughed it off and they told me we'd meet up again before walking off.

The next few hours were a blur. I met many new people, many of which were Kings, Queens or somehow tied to a royal family one way or the other. I tried to keep the names straight, but it was difficult. Eventually, people started to disperse and I led Annabeth up to her room before heading over to mine.

I undressed quickly and then crashed in bed. I was exhausted.

* * *

I woke up feeling refreshed the next morning. Abby and I headed down to breakfast and we managed to finish before anyone showed up. Abby told me she'd wait for Annabeth and I headed upstairs to get changed.

Annabeth joined me on my way over to the arena. I had picked her up after heading back down to the dining hall. She had grabbed a bagel to go and hopped in-line with me.

"So, who do you have today?" She asked.

"Spain," I replied. "We're both 2-0, but whoever loses will most likely have to face Denmark and that's not something I want to do in the quarterfinal round."

"Well, then you know what to do."

I shot my girlfriend a grin. "Yeah, I guess so."

We had reached the arena. Annabeth gave me a kiss before wrapping me in a hug.

"Good luck, Percy."

"Thanks, Annabeth."

With that, she left, heading for a good seat. I walked inside and found Adler and Lord Aldrich already waiting for me in the changing room. They both turned towards me.

"You know what you have to do?" Lord Aldrich asked.

I nodded. "I got it."

When I was with Annabeth I was more relaxed and carefree, but the second she left my side I immediately focused. I had a strategy for this and I went over it as my cousin and teacher helped me with my armor.

Before I knew it, it was the beginning of the duel. We had been led out, shook hands and the national anthems had played. All that was left was for Sven to give the go ahead.

"You may now begin!"

I charged, which was something I didn't normally do, and I immediately knew it threw the Spaniard off. Once that happened, he had no shot. It took a couple minutes of constant attacking, but by pacing myself I eventually wore him down. His sword clattered to the ground and the German crowd erupted.

After helping the guy up, I turned towards the crowd.

"There we go," I said mostly to myself. "There's the 3-0 group stage that I wanted."

Several people had reminded me that I had a loss in the group stage in the Championships just a couple months ago, so I wanted to prove I was capable of going beyond that. I think I did that today.

* * *

The next day the quarterfinal draw was announced. The four quarterfinal matches were as follows:

_Germany v. Italy (A1 v. B2)…Denmark v. Spain (B1 v. A2)_

_Greece v. United Kingdom (C1 v. D2)….…..Norway v. Ireland (D1 v. C2)_

I noticed that Lord Henderson and Jason had both lost their third matches, but they both managed to make it through to the knockout round. I pushed that thought aside and focused on my opponent; Italy. I had met their competitor during the informal ball. His name was Nico, I think. He was around my age, maybe a little younger. Kind of creepy if you ask me, wearing black all the time, but he was a good guy once I got to know him. I'd have to find him before we dueled. I wanted to wish the guy luck.

We had two days off after the draw was announced and, after a training session today with Lord Aldrich, I planned on taking Annabeth out tomorrow.

The training session before the quarterfinal round was open to the public and of course I got a big showing. I figured my opponent was somewhere in the crowd, but I didn't mind. I would be attending his training session later. We were both trying to find a weakness in the other.

Despite not wanting my opponent to come up with a strategy, I trained hard. Lord Aldrich brought a couple of the trainees from the swordsmanship school and although they were good, they didn't quite reach up to the World Championship level. I could easily tell they had a lot of work left to do if they wanted to get up to this level.

Before I knew it, our hour training session was over and I was getting changed out of my armor. There was one hour between us and my opponent, so Lord Aldrich and I headed over for a quick lunch discussing strategy.

"I was watching your opponent in his third duel," Lord Aldrich was saying, "and it looked like he was quick with his sword. He's not a very big guy, but he looked nimble, agile. I would prepare for some quick steps and movement from him."

"Ok," I replied. "I'd still like to see him fight in person, but that was good info."

"Also, he doesn't like to attack first, so you might have to bait him into attacking you."

"Alright. Sounds good."

The two of us had made it to the dining hall and we ate a quick lunch before heading back over to the arena. We caught the tail end of the Greek competitor and I saw Lord Henderson on the far side watching. He failed to notice me, but I let it go. He was busy discussing strategy of his own.

My opponent's session came and went and it confirmed everything Lord Aldrich had told me. I immediately started to form a plan in my head. We had one more training session tomorrow before the quarterfinals the following day. I was spending most of the day with Annabeth, but we still had a training session scheduled for late that night.

* * *

The next morning I was able to sleep in. Abby made sure to wake me so I could catch the tail end of breakfast and I ate a quick meal before joining up with Annabeth. The two of us made our way to the stables after picking up a picnic basket from the kitchen. We were heading out of the castle today to a spot I had become quite fond of. Annabeth kept asking me what it was, but I refused to tell her. She would have to find out herself.

I had both Blackjack and Starry saddled before we got there, but I checked to make sure. I trusted the castle's handlers, but it was a good habit to make sure everything was ok.

The two of us mounted our horses and started off on a slow trot out of the castle. It took a while to get out of the castle's boundaries due to the multitude of people constantly walking over the drawbridge, but eventually we made it out. I was able to let Blackjack run free for the first time in a couple months and I could tell he was happy to oblige. Annabeth and Starry had fallen behind a little bit, but I let Blackjack run for a little while longer before pulling him up and letting my girlfriend catch up to me. I promised him we'd run on the way back and he whinnied in response.

Annabeth, looking a little pissed at me for running away without warning, finally caught back up and I promised her I wouldn't leave her without warning until we headed back. We were almost there anyway.

Finally I slowed to a walk and then stopped behind some trees. I motioned for Annabeth to do the same and she looked at me, confused.

"You ready?" I asked her.

"Ready for what?"

I rolled my eyes for a second and looked away from her before finally looking back.

"My surprise?" I said. "The reason we're out here in the first place?"

"Oh, oh right. Yeah, I'm ready."

I rolled my eyes once more. Sometimes I wondered whether I was the smarter one of the two of us. I looked back up at her.

"Ok, then come on."

I rounded the corner first, Annabeth following a half-step behind. The view was just as beautiful as ever. We were standing about ten feet back from the edge of a cliff, one that toppled down the entire way to a valley of trees below us. The forest stretched out for miles towards the horizon and still you couldn't see the end.

To our left was a less serious cliff with trees growing into the side. A dirt road could be seen making a path through the trees and it snaked around the bends, making the road as flat as possible.

To the right was a waterfall cut into the side of the mountain, but it was much more than that. The waterfall came down in three sections, each pooling in a little section like a pond before heading down the next waterfall. At the bottom of the valley stood a larger pool before it straightened out and became a river flowing through the forest below.

I heard Annabeth gasp behind me. I dismounted before looking over at her. I urged her to dismount, which she did, and I grabbed her hand, leading her to the edge of the cliff.

I gave my girlfriend a grin. "So, what do you think?"

She looked over at me before wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Oh my gods, Percy, this is beautiful," she whispered in my ear. "How did you find this place?"

We broke apart and I responded, "I found it when I first came here to Germany. Sven was leading me here from Wales and he actually was the one to show me it. I stopped by on my way back home and then again when I left London. It's beautiful all of the time."

"Yeah, it is. It's amazing how something can just be here like this. Just sitting here, in the middle of nowhere, and be so beautiful."

"I know what you mean," I replied, heading over to Blackjack to pick up the picnic basket while Annabeth continued to take in the scene. I grabbed the basket and headed back over next to my girlfriend. "Ready for some amazing sandwiches?"

Annabeth turned and gave me a smile. "Sure. Let's eat."

With that I opened the basket, pulling out a blanket to set on the ground. After Annabeth helped me flatten it out, I pulled out two plates, a couple napkins, two canisters with amazing orange juice and finally the sandwiches themselves. The kitchen staff had made two each for us, just in case we were extra hungry, but they were big sandwiches, so I wasn't sure if we were going to eat them all.

I poured the two of us each a glass of orange juice and Annabeth snuggled next to me while we ate.

"Thanks for bringing me out here, Percy."

"You're welcome," I replied. "Anything for you."

Annabeth blushed a little bit, but took a bite of her sandwich to cover it up.

It was quiet for a minute or two, both of us eating and taking in the view. Eventually, Annabeth spoke, breaking the silence.

"Percy," she said. "What's going to happen after this is over?" I looked over at her.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What are you going to do after the competition is finished? Are you going to stay here or come back to England?"

I looked away from my girlfriend and off in the distance.

"I don't know," I told her, still looking at the horizon. "I haven't really thought about it much. Sven's still really early in his reign, so I want to stay behind to help him out, but I want to go back home and see my mom again." I turned back towards Annabeth. "You know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I guess," she replied a little dejected. Annabeth placed her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her.

"How about this?" I said. "How about you guys stay an extra day or two after the competition is over and the two of us can talk about it with your parents."

Annabeth glanced up at me from my shoulder.

"My parents?" She asked. "Why involve my parents?"

"They deserve to have a say in it," I told her. "I don't want anyone in the dark after this decision is made."

"What about your mom?"

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I'll have to send her a letter or something. It's just too bad she's so far away."

Annabeth was quiet for a while, like she is when she's thinking.

"Don't worry," she said eventually. "We'll figure something out."

"I hope so," I said, relaxing at the sight of the beautiful view. "I sure hope so."

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Chapter 17 will be up on Wednesday with Chapter 18 on Friday.**

**Onto other news: A new chapter of The Ten was posted earlier this morning and a new chapter of Scars and Recognition will be out tomorrow.**

**Now I'm going to introduce something new I'm starting on my profile. It's called Quote Trivia and this is how it works: I will be putting a random quote down in the bottom author's note and you must tell me who said it and which book the quote took place in. Bonus points go for those who can tell me who the quote is being said to. As an FYI these will be taking the place of the trivia questions. I will still continue the Question of the Chapter, but they will not be trivia questions. Alright, here we go.**

**Who said this quote: "Let us find the dam snack bar. We should eat while we can."**

**We'll see how you guys like these and I'll decide whether to continue them or not.**

**Onto the Question of the Chapter: If you could go to any country free of charge (not having to pay for a flight, a hotel or food), but you had to stay in that country forever, which country would you choose and why?**

**I would choose Germany and that isn't because of this story. I've always loved Germany. I'm part German and I spent ten days over there last year and I had an amazing time. I also took three years of German in high school, so I think it would be the easiest country to acclimate myself to.**

**Now, make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. You guys seemed to like the Quote Trivia, so I'm going to continue it.**

**Speaking of QT (as I will call Quote Trivia occasionally from now on) many of you guessed correctly and gave me the answer of Zoe Nightshade in The Titan's Curse. Bonus points go to those who told me she was talking to Thalia, Percy and Grover.**

**Here are your winners (bonus points to those in _italics_): GetLostInTheMusic, roselovemedana, elliefs, Naguse, ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted, _percabeth12141711_, _Tajee165_, _wisdom-of-the-sea_, _numbah435spiritsong_, _ElmoDaHorse_, LeahTymara, Ble fotia and _jaberwoky_.**

**Onto the chapter. This is Chapter 17. We move onto the quarterfinal and semifinal matches today. Only four more chapters after this one guys.**

**Enjoy Chapter Seventeen of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: SoM movie comes out today!**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: Annabeth POV

Abby got me up early the next morning and the two of us headed down to breakfast. Just as we were finishing our meals, Percy came down for the first time. He had the first duel like the group stage, but since there were half as many matches today, the first duel was about an hour later. They would have the first two quarterfinal matchups before lunch and the second two after lunch as Percy had explained to me.

Percy quickly finished his breakfast and the two of us started to walk over to the arena, hand-in-hand. We got stopped a couple times when people came over to wish him luck, but most people seemed to recognize that Percy was with me and they let the two of us go.

"So, are you ready?" I asked him. I knew he was, but it gave me a conversation starter.

"Yeah, I've got my strategy down," he said. "Are you going to sit next to Abby and Carina again?"

"Yeah, the three of us will be nervously cheering you on, like always." Percy gave me a smile.

"Good. That gives me one less thing to worry about."

"You're just saying that," I responded automatically.

Percy shrugged and gave me a grin. "So?"

I hit him with my free arm as we made it to the changing rooms. Percy let out a short laugh and then held open the door for me. I walked in and Percy followed behind. No one was in the room yet, so I sat down next to Percy and we talked for a while. I was glad he was so relaxed. If he was stressed already, that means I would get stressed and that wasn't good at all. Luckily for me though he wasn't and we were able to talk calmly for around five minutes or so before his teacher and younger cousin showed up.

I gave him a quick hug and a peck on the lips before I was ushered out. Carina was waiting for me outside the door like she had been for the group matches and the two of us made our way up to our seats.

Abby and Sven joined us a couple minutes later and by the time the competitors walked out the arena was packed. Percy shook hands with the Italian and the two countries' flags made their way behind their respective competitor. Sven rose and took a couple steps forward. The crowd quieted in anticipation.

"Welcome to the Quarterfinal stage of these World Championships," he said. The crowd reacted with fervor. "In this first match-up we have Italy versus Germany. The winner will take the first of four places in the semifinal round."

The crowd cheered with anticipation. I clapped along, trying to catch Percy's eye, but I was having no luck so far. I turned my gaze back to my boyfriend's cousin.

"Now, if you could all please stand in respect as the national anthem of Germany plays to be followed by the national anthem of Italy."

Another quick cheer arose but was quickly cut off. The German national anthem rang throughout the arena and I could hear my two companions (Abby on the left, Carina on the right) singing along with the crowd. I felt a little jealous to be honest. I wanted to know the words, but as of yet I hadn't gotten anyone to teach me. I put my jealousy aside and focused on Percy as he bellowed out the words along with his German compatriots.

Finally the anthem ended to a raucous applause and the Italian anthem followed. Applause arose for both countries as the Italian anthem finished and Sven stepped forward as the flag bearers quickly made their way to the exits.

"You may now begin!" He yelled.

Percy immediately attacked, sending an overhand at his opponent. It looked like a good blow, but the Italian quickly shuffled his feet and caught it on his shield. He spun around for a slash of his own and Percy parried before they circled around.

Percy sent in a thrust, but again the guy just avoided it by skirmishing around it. I immediately noticed that he was lightning quick on his feet, which was probably why he made it this far.

Percy comboed that thrust into an overhand/backhand combination, but the Italian just parried the overhand and side-stepped the backhand. I couldn't be sure, but I think he was trying to tire Percy out. I noticed he was barely attacking and instead focusing on defending and avoiding Percy's attacks.

Percy feinted another thrust, but instead turned it into a slash across his opponent's armor. He barely got back to catch Percy's stroke on his shield, but he still managed to avoid Percy's follow-up overhand.

The crowd was getting a little antsy. Percy, while on the attack, was eventually going to tire and that was exactly what his opponent was waiting for. The duel went on for another couple minutes, but neither competitor was able to disarm their opponent.

Percy stepped back for another short break and I could tell he was tiring. His opponent had barely returned any attacks during that couple minutes and Percy was forced to rethink his strategy. He tried sending a slash down at his opponent's feet, but the Italian had learned from Percy's previous duels and he knew a shield crash was coming.

All he did was roll under it and he was safely out the other side. I saw Percy turn and I swear I saw a hint of a smile on his face. I couldn't be sure though. Suddenly, Abby grabbed my hand from my left and I looked over at her, surprised, and almost missed the end of the duel.

When I looked back, Percy was on the attack again. This time, however, instead of going low, he went high, slashing towards his opponent's head. Naturally, the Italian ducked, avoiding the blade and that's when Percy came in with his shield crash. Percy had perfect timing. His shield crashed into the Italian's helmet and he toppled to the ground. All that was left was a quick swipe of the sword and Percy had won.

The German crowd erupted and Abby finally let go of my hand. She gave me a sheepish look while Percy was helping up his opponent, but I let it go once the two of them bowed towards our direction. I finally caught Percy's glance and I gave him a smile. He returned a grin and headed out of the arena.

* * *

The rest of the quarterfinal duels passed, with Denmark, Ireland and the UK advancing. Other than Percy and Lord Henderson advancing to the semifinals, I wasn't too happy with the results.

Also unfortunately for me, Percy and Lord Henderson were fighting each other, so it's not like I could hope for them to be in the finals facing each other. That also meant that one of the two finalists would be someone I hated, whether it be Luke, the Dane or the Irish competitor.

I sat with Percy at dinner that night and he told me not to worry about who else was in the semifinals.

"As long as I keep winning, why does it matter?" He had said.

I gave him a look, but decided I couldn't argue with that logic.

Every time I saw Luke he would give me a smirk as if saying, 'Hey, I'm still in this thing. Want to reconsider your choices?' but I just gave him a glare. I wanted to yell at him that Percy was still in it too, but I decided against making a scene and just walked away.

After dinner I joined up with Percy and the two of us walked around the castle in the cool night breeze. The moon was shining brightly and there weren't many people out walking around, which I was grateful for. I needed some alone time with Percy.

"So," I said. "You and Lord Henderson again. This time for a spot in the final."

Percy didn't look over at me, but still replied.

"Yeah," he said. "It feels right, though. In all honesty, I hope Luke and I both win. I want to see his face when I cream him in the final."

"Trust me, Percy, I want to, too, but focus on the semifinal now. If you lose you won't even get a shot."

Percy looked over at me, a glint now in his eye.

"I know, Annabeth. I'm not going to get ahead of myself."

I gave him a smile. "Ok, I'm just making sure."

"Thanks," he said. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

I looked back up at him, intrigued. "Yeah, sure."

"Would you be my date for the ball?"

I blushed slightly, but shook it off.

"Percy, you don't have to ask me. Of course I'm going with you."

"Ok, I'm just making sure." He gave me a grin. "It never hurts to check, right?"

I let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I guess."

"You have a dress with you, right?" He asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm guessing you want to see it?"

"Hey, we got to match, don't we?"

I let out another short laugh. "Alright. I'll show you when we get back to my room."

Percy smiled, but otherwise didn't say anything.

* * *

The next morning was the semifinals and I was heavily conflicted. I wanted to root for Percy, but I felt if I did that I would be turning against my country. I had joked with Lady Henderson that if they met each other I would root for Percy, but now that it was happening I wasn't so sure.

Right now I was sitting in my room with Rayne and Abby. Isabel was currently in the shower. The four of us had just gotten back from breakfast.

Suddenly, someone knocked on our open door and came striding in. I looked up to find Lady Henderson.

"Mind if I join you three?" She asked.

"Sure, go ahead," I told her. "But can I ask why you're here, Lady Henderson?"

"I was told you were a little conflicted as to whom to root for today," she said.

I dropped my gaze. "Yeah, a little," I said, catching her eye once more. "I want to root for Percy, but at the same time I feel like I'm turning my back on my country, you know?"

"Let me tell you something, Annabeth," she said, sitting down on the bed next to me. "You probably don't know this, but I was born in Norway." My expression must have been good because she laughed. "And by your expression, I'm guessing I was right. But anyway, I met my husband at a tournament, much like a lot of people do. It was a friendly tournament between Scotland and Norway before Scotland joined and formed the UK. I remember I was twelve or so at the time and this little boy intrigued me. We got talking and a couple of years later we starting dating. A couple of years ago I remember going to another one of those friendly tournaments, just like in the past, but this time I was married and I faced the same problem you did. My husband was in the final facing off against my brother in fact and I was torn between who to root for. The day of the duel someone gave me advice and I don't quite remember who it was, but the advice was invaluable. I remember the guy telling me, 'Root for who your heart tells you to, and don't let anyone else tell you different.' I have just one thing to add to that. If Percy does win, don't look too happy. Most people will recognize the situation and understand, but there will always be that one person who takes everything out of context, ok?"

"Alright," I told her. "Thanks, Lady Henderson."

"Don't worry about it, Annabeth," she replied, standing up from the bed. "Just make sure not to sit near me and we'll stay friends."

I sent her a smile and Lady Henderson made her way out of the room.

Within the hour I was sitting next to Abby in the stands. I had forced her to sit with me away from the rest of Percy's cousins because I knew she was in the same boat I was, at least on a much, much smaller scale.

Finally Percy and Lord Henderson walked out from their rooms and met each other in the middle. They shook hands firmly in the center of the arena and I saw Lord Henderson lean in to say something to Percy. I saw my boyfriend give a quick response and the two of them broke apart.

Sven stood and the crowd quieted.

"Congratulations and welcome to the semifinal round," he started. "Today we will witness a match-up of comrades, as Royal Prince Jackson and Lord Henderson have fought previously in the United Kingdom. But today is a new day and this fight is a new fight. I wish the both of you the best of luck and may the best man win." The crowd cheered. "If you could all please stand for the national anthem of the United Kingdom to be followed by the national anthem of Germany."

The crowd rose as one and I stared into the UK flag as the familiar anthem played. I sang along, graciously belting out the words which were sung by around a quarter of the arena. The Germans, including Abby, stayed silent. I risked a glance to Percy, and I noticed him at least mumbling the words and my heart fluttered. The song ended and I joined in with the British applause.

We were quickly cut off by the Germans as they sung their own national anthem. I could hear Abby singing now and I could clearly see Percy singing as my eardrums were about taken off by the German support.

The song ended and I respectfully clapped. I caught Percy's eye once more as the flags were ushered out and I took a seat. Sven stepped forward, ready to get this duel underway.

"You may now begin!" He yelled and the crowd went crazy.

Lord Henderson attacked first, throwing an overhand at Percy. If I remembered back to the Championships, Lord Henderson had attacked Percy feverously before realizing Percy was wearing him down. His strategy had changed and he was now waiting for Percy to answer him.

The two of them traded blows, either blocking or deflecting the strokes. I flinched every time Lord Henderson landed a blow on Percy's shield, but I knew Percy was strong enough to withstand the stroke.

The duel continued, but neither swordsman was able to land a stroke on the other's armor, much less get an attempt at disarming them.

That's when Percy stumbled and you could hear thousands of Germans catch their breath. Just when it looked like Percy was about to topple to the ground, he righted himself and caught Lord Henderson, who was in the middle of an attack, off guard.

In Lord Henderson's moment of uncertainty, Percy struck. A quick overhand/backhand combination that got Lord Henderson off balance followed by a quick thrust to intercept a return attack. Percy twisted his sword into a slash and quick as lightning Lord Henderson's sword was on the ground.

There was a moment of stunned silence as to how Percy turned that around, but it quickly turned into German elation. I clapped along and managed to remember at the last second to not look too happy, but tears were still flowing down my face. Abby wrapped me in a hug and I totally missed the congratulatory handshake and the two competitors walking out of the arena.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? Percy's into the final and you'll find out who he faces in the next chapter.**

**Speaking of the next chapter, Chapter 18 will be posted on Friday, so be sure to check it out.**

**Onto Quote Trivia. Who said this quote: "The Titan War," [he] repeated, "which has _nothing_ to do with this very fine bed?"**

**As a reminder, I need both the speaker _and_ the book for it to count. Bonus points to those who can say who the quote is being said to.**

**Now for the Question of the Chapter: Would you rather be the one fighting in the duel or the one watching the duel?**

**Easy. Fighting. I can relate this to soccer. I would rather be playing soccer than watching it, so I'd say I want to be fighting rather than watching. Simple as that.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. We are close to becoming the most reviewed story I have here on Fanfiction. For that I thank you.**

**Ok, last chapter I asked you guys a new QT and many of you were tripped up, although we did have some correct answers. The following people gave me the correct answer of Leo Valdez in The Lost Hero (bonus points went to those who said he was talking to Jake Mason and Will Solace (again bonus points will be in _italics_)): _Willow Sonnet_, AGreyMood, _Percabeth4ever25_, Ble fotia, BrianaValdez167, _numbah435spiritsong_, ElmoDaHorse, LeahTymara, _livelaughloveandread_ and one _guest_.**

**As a reminder I need both the speaker and the book for it to count.**

**Onto Chapter 18. This is the second-to-last chapter in Annabeth's POV, the only other one being the epilogue in Chapter 21.**

**Enjoy Chapter Eighteen of The Prince, The Girl and The World.**

**Disclaimer: We're under two months until HoH!**

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: Annabeth POV

I met Percy down at the changing room just as he was coming out. I jumped into him and he wrapped me in a hug.

"Congrats, Percy," I said. "Although next time don't be so worrying."

Percy let out a short chuckle. "I won't," he said. "The stumble was kind of intentional if you didn't pick up on it."

"Yeah, but you still scared the crap out of me."

Percy laughed again and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I wrapped my own arm around his waist and the two of us walked back to the castle, ready for some lunch. The second semifinal was after lunch and Percy told me he was planning on watching.

"So, tell me," I said as we walked into the dining hall, "who would you rather face?"

"Luke," he said without hesitation. "I want to kill him so bad."

"I hope you don't mean literally," I told him.

Percy gave me a sheepish smile. "Eh, maybe a little bit."

I joined him at a table and we began eating. Many, many people came up to Percy and congratulated him, wishing him luck in the final. It was really distracting, but Percy took it with such professionalism, I had to admit I was impressed.

That afternoon, Percy got his wish. Luke defeated the Irishman after a long, hard fought duel and the two rivals were set up to meet each other in the final.

Personally, I think that hyped up the final even more than normal. I heard a couple people joking that they had already reserved seats for the duel in two days and for some reason I could see people doing that.

The night passed and before I knew it I was getting ready for the ball with Isabel. We both had our make-up on, so all that was left was changing into our dresses.

I loved my dress. First of all it was strapless, which was something I insisted on it being. The main color was a dark red, not quite burgundy, but still darker than normal red. The dress had two main sections, I guess. The first section hung to my sides and ended at about my hips. The red color was visible underneath the flower design of white threads. The design was pretty heavy going down the middle of my stomach, but as you got further away from the center of my body, it slowly spaced out, exposing more of the red fabric underneath.

The second section of the dress started at my hips and was basically the bottom of a plain red dress, although there was a constant little design spread evenly throughout the fabric. It was white, kind of like the top, and it reminded me of an unlit candle (or someone showing me their middle finger, whichever came to my mind first). The dress continued down to my ankles, so you couldn't see my feet. I put on a pair of red heels as well, just so my dress wouldn't be dragging on the floor too much.

I was going to wear a necklace to go along with the dress, but Isabel told me that I looked much better without it, so I left it in my dresser.

I slipped a couple of red bracelets around my right wrist to give me something to play with when I wasn't dancing (like the boring formalities that we had to go through at dinner). I had curled my hair a little more than normal and I let it flow down behind me. Isabel complimented me like crazy, saying that if she was a guy, she'd probably be drooling right now. I blushed and thanked her.

Isabel had to leave to head down to get situated before the ball, so I gave her a quick hug, making sure not to ruin either of our dresses, and she walked out of the room.

I had to wait for Carina, as she said all of the competitor's dates had to be led down after everyone was in the dining hall, so they wouldn't be seen by anyone other than the competitors. They were going to announce us as we walked in, just like they had when we had walked in back in London.

After around ten minutes of pacing around, Carina finally knocked on my door. As I opened it, she gave me a once-over and then looked up at me with a huge grin.

"You look amazing, Annabeth," she said. "Percy is going to _love _you." Carina had on a simple black dress that wasn't really fancy at all. It was the same length as mine though.

"He's already seen the dress Carina," I told her.

"Yeah, but he hasn't seen you in it." I blushed a little bit, but shook it off.

"Can we leave yet?" I asked her.

"Yeah, come on."

The two of us walked side-by-side down the hallway until we hit the stairs. There, Carina went first, saying from here on I had to walk behind her as she was supposed to be leading me.

After we slowly made our way down the many stairs, careful not to break a heel, the two of us exited the stairwell. Carina turned towards me.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's go."

Carina led me through the corridors and my pulse started to quicken as we got closer to the dining hall. What was Percy wearing, I thought? He had never shown me. Wasn't this supposed to be the other way around? He was supposed to be the one in doubt, not me.

We rounded the final corner and it took me a couple seconds before I finally spotted him. Percy was at the end of the line, of course, and he was wearing a suit. He had a white undershirt with a gold tie as well as a black blazer, dress pants and shoes.

I looked down at my dress as I got closer to him, trying to figure out how we were matching. Black, gold and red. Where had I seen those colors together before? It took a couple seconds, but it finally hit me. The two of us made up the colors of the German flag.

I noticed I was one of the last ones to arrive, as only a few other competitors were still standing alone. Carina dropped me off next to Percy and the two of us looked each other in the eyes.

Percy wrapped me in a hug, which I gratefully returned.

"You look amazing, Annabeth," he whispered in my ear.

I smiled to myself. "Thanks," I said back. "You too."

"Hey, good news," he said, pulling away from me. "You get to sit with me today."

"What, really?" I asked.

"Yeah. That's one perk of dating the host competitor, right?"

I smiled, but otherwise didn't say anything.

Within five minutes, the rest of the competitors' dates had arrived and we were ready to head into the dining hall. Unfortunately for us, Luke, as the other finalist, was right in front of us, and he had sent me multiple smirks as I had walked in. I had completely ignored him, as I should have, and lucky for him I didn't have a dagger on me or else I probably would have stabbed him in the back. I know that's probably really mean, but hey, this guy had hit on me too many times to count, especially after he knew I had a boyfriend. I deserved the right to want to kill him.

Anyway, the competitors were slowly announced, mostly in alphabetical order, with the exceptions of the semifinalists being the last four to walk in. Lord Henderson and the Irish competitor (I finally learned his name was Jason), who would be fighting in the third place duel tomorrow morning, stood in front of Luke, who stood in front of us. They were all announced and finally it was our turn. Percy extended his arm and I gladly took it.

The two of us walked down the aisle. I immediately caught Rayne's eye and she grinned at me.

"Now entering the hall is the competitor from Germany, the Royal Prince of Berlin," the announcer said. "Royal Prince Jackson will be competing in the final of the World Championships tomorrow." A small cheer arose when the announcer said this. "Entering the hall with him is his girlfriend, Royal Princess Annabeth Chase of the United Kingdom, who seems to be stunning everyone in the room with her amazing beauty." I blushed. Gods, what was with it with these announcers and making me blush? "Royal Prince Jackson is the eldest son of our late prince, Poseidon Olympii, and says his goal is to follow in his father's footsteps and win three World Championships." By this time, the two of us had reached our seats and the two of us sat down. "Royal Princess Chase is the only daughter of King Frederick and Queen Athena of the United Kingdom and, while only seventeen, is learning to run the country under her father's guidance. My lords and ladies, your competitor from Germany." The announcer bowed as the applause rang out and Percy stood quickly to acknowledge the crowd.

Sven waited for his cousin to take a seat once more before standing himself.

"There you go," he started. "Your sixteen competitors of this year's World Championships."

More applause rang out throughout the hall. I caught Percy's eye as I was clapping and he gave me a grin.

Sven continued, "Tomorrow is the final day of this year's tournament, Day Fifteen. Day Fifteen is special, not only because it is the end of the tournament, but it is the day we will crown a champion. Day Fifteen is special. It signifies the fifteen other competitors who have fallen, the fifteen others unable to claim the title of World Champion. Tonight we are down to two. Tomorrow we will only have one." Sven paused as he let his words sink in. I had never heard it interpreted that way before. "Tonight is a night to celebrate. Tonight is a night to dance, a night to end all nights, a night to regret tomorrow morning. This is the World Championship Ball and I'm proud to say that the ball has been opened!"

Another bout of cheering arose as the servants came out with the food for dinner. It was different, sitting at the head table next to Percy. Yeah, I normally sat at the head table back home, but still, I had gotten used to sitting down below these past two weeks.

For once, I was glad Percy was by my side at dinner. Occasionally, he would reach over and steal a piece of chicken that was laid out on my plate and I would return the favor by stealing one of his. We'd share a short laugh before being civilized for around a minute or so before heading back to our childish ways.

To be honest, I was surprised that I didn't get anything on my dress. I was having so much fun I figured I'd get dirty somehow, but I managed not to. I called a truce with Percy, but he still managed to bump my elbow 'on accident' every now and then.

Finally, dinner was finished and the competitors led their dates down to the dance floor. Once Percy and I got there, I placed my one hand on his shoulder and he grabbed the other. The music started and Percy started by twirling me around. I laughed and soon enough I was lost in having a good time. I found myself dancing with a bunch of people, including Rayne, Ashton, Abby, my dad and even the German King, Sven. I kept making my way back to Percy, of course, and I made sure to avoid Luke. If I did those two things I knew my night would be amazing.

My night was absolutely perfect up until two or three hours in. I was dancing with Percy when Abby interrupted us. She was crying.

Percy immediately stopped. "Abby, Abby, what's wrong?"

Abby shook her head, but she couldn't seem to form the words.

"Abby, what is it?" I asked her.

Percy's sister finally was able to look up. "Mom," she said.

It took the two of us a second to register.

"Mom?" Percy asked. "What about her?"

"Home," Abby replied. "She's home."

With that, Abby turned and pointed to the side, where a single woman was standing alone. She looked to be around thirty-five or so and looked _exactly_ like Abby. They both had blue eyes and long brown hair with streaks of blonde in them. Percy recognized her immediately. He left my side and took off towards the woman. They shared a hug and I was shocked still. By the time I realized, Abby had already left me and was making her way towards the woman as well. I slowly made my way over and by the time I got there, the lady was wrapping Abby in a hug.

I noticed Percy was wiping tears from his eyes and his mouth was open in shock. Finally, the lady noticed me.

"Hello there, Annabeth," she said simply.

I didn't know how to react. "But how – what – who?" I finally got myself together. "Percy, who is this?"

"Oh, that's right," the lady said. "We never would have met." She extended her hand. "Sally Jackson. I'm your boyfriend's mother."

* * *

Yeah, I was shocked. Eventually the four of us made our way up to Percy's room, me still in my dress. Actually, all of us were still dressed up with the exception of Percy's mom. The four of us took a seat on the beds, me of course sitting next to Percy.

"So, Annabeth," Sally said. "It's nice to meet you for the first time."

"Yeah, same to you," I replied, finally overcoming my shock. "But I thought you were living in Wales?"

My boyfriend's mother laughed. "I still do sweetheart."

"But-"

"What am I doing here?" I nodded. "News travels fast nowadays. When I learned Percy had made it through the group stage unscathed, I knew he had a shot at winning it all, so I left my restaurant in the hands of my assistants and made my way here, just in time for the final. I went on the risk that he would make it this far and luckily he has. I knew if he inherited his father's skill he would go far and I have never been more correct in my life."

"But mom," Abby cut in. "Why didn't you let either of us know you were coming?"

"It was a surprise," she replied. "Deep in my heart I knew I would return here one day and when Percy was fighting in the World Championships here in our true home I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity. And truthfully, I knew if I told you, you both would get stressed and Percy would focus too much on me arriving and he wouldn't focus enough on his duel."

There was silence for a couple seconds. I could tell both Jackson kids were thinking hard.

"And don't worry about me needing to talk with anyone," their mom continued. "I've already talked with Hades and Hera. They've already welcomed me back."

"Can I ask something?" I said, cutting in while the other two were deep in thought.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"When was the last time you were here?"

Sally sighed. "Oh, it was almost sixteen years ago," she said. "It was a couple days after my husband died. I stayed for the funeral, but that night I took these two and left."

"And you haven't been back since?" Sally shook her head.

"Whatever you do Annabeth, don't turn your back on family. Your family will always help you through anything, ok? Make sure you know that."

"Alright, I will. Thanks."

The next several hours were spent reminiscing and catching up. I learned a lot about their mom and she learned a lot about me. In many ways, Percy's mom reminded me of my own mom and for that I was happy. If I ended up marrying Percy, I was glad I would have someone like his mom to talk to. Eventually, Sally called it a night, forcing all of us to go to sleep, saying Percy had to rest for his duel the next day and Abby and I had to rest to withstand all of the stress we were going to go through. I gave Percy a good-night hug and kiss, thanked his mom and headed back to my room, slipping off my dress and falling asleep in my comfortable bed.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So, what did you think? A little unexpected twist occurred at the ball, but it's a good twist. Also, we find out that Percy and Luke will showdown in the final, which I'm sure you'll like. That will be chapter 19 and it will be up on Monday.**

**Also, the link to Annabeth's dress is on my profile. Check it out if you have the time.**

**Onto Quote Trivia. Who said this quote: "Any more stupid questions?"**

**Reminder: I need both the speaker and the book. Bonus points are for the recipient(s).**

**Now to the Question of the Chapter: Would you rather be a weak child of Ares or a child of Poseidon who couldn't swim?**

**Oh, gods, why did I put myself in this situation? I'm more scared of Ares, so I'd have to say Poseidon. He's a little nicer, but other than that I really have no answer to this. I'd like to see your decisions. I think it would be interesting to see what you guys say.**

**Make sure to review!**

**Thanks!**

**-PSON**


End file.
